


The Trials of Soren

by Aisene



Series: Trials [2]
Category: Fire Emblem: Soen no Kiseki/Akatsuki no Megami | Fire Emblem Path of Radiance/Radiant Dawn
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon, Ashnard's A+ Parenting, Canon-Typical Violence, Fluff and Humor, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, M/M, More a series of short stories, Multi, Pelleas is a cinnamon roll, Plenty of cameos, Poor Gawain, Prince Soren of Daein, Ranulf is a bro, Soren and Ike are in love, Soren and Pelleas are twinsies, Soren has no time for your bullshit, Soren is a snarky little shit
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-30
Updated: 2021-03-08
Packaged: 2021-03-10 17:33:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 17
Words: 22,983
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28430955
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aisene/pseuds/Aisene
Summary: Stories in the life of Soren and Ike after the tournament, and in preparation for an event that will change their lives forever.(warnings and tags will be updated as we sally forth)
Relationships: Almedha/Ashnard (Fire Emblem), Bole | Boyd/Mist, Elena/Greil (Fire Emblem), Ike/Senerio | Soren, Lay | Ranulf/Tiamat | Titania, Micaiah/Pelleas (Fire Emblem)
Series: Trials [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2082459
Comments: 28
Kudos: 32





	1. A -13

**Author's Note:**

> For now, only the first chapter takes place pre-tournament. I am taking requests if you have something you want to see in this 'verse, though!

Isaac “Ike” Bryce Greil was ready. To finally, finally confess his crush.

Ish.

It was scary, because he and Soren were best friends and he didn’t want to ruin that, but Soren was also really, really pretty. And so sweet. To Ike. 

But Soren was also a prince (“Soren Kurthnaga Daein, Prince of Daein and Goldoa,” Crown Prince depending on the day, if one wanted to be specific), and that meant that, apparently, his dad could make him marry anyone he wanted. In fact, that’s how Ike knew what he felt for Soren was beyond mere friendship. Talk of marrying Pelleas to someone else made Ike think _I feel sorry for whoever gets stuck with him…_ Talk of marrying _Soren_ off to someone else made Ike feel a deep fury, almost rage. Seething jealousy, like hate. For both Soren’s dad and for whoever was being floated as his future spouse.

There were two today, because today was Soren’s birthday and that meant matches got presented in earnest. The first was Captain Maijin, and Ike imagined his death in a hundred different ways as the older man, late 30s early 40s, walked down the royal carpet to meet Ashnard. Exactly no one looked pleased, not even Ashnard, but especially not Soren or his mom, and even more especially not Ike who was hiding behind his dad because he wasn’t allowed in the room.

So creepy! Soren was thirteen! Thirteen! He knew that this was standard, but, no! Rejected!

Maijin saluted Gawain and then bowed to the King and Queen. “Your Majesties, I am interested in seeking the hand of Prince Soren for marriage, when he comes of age in three years, of course. I would be an excellent addition to the Royal Family. My family has been loyal servants of the Kingdom for generations! And my reputation is flawless.”

Soren did not look nervous at all, which Ike figured was because he knew he was not going to marry this guy. Almedha’s nose was so high she could have worn a hat on it. Ashnard actually rolled his eyes, and Ike felt the tension leave him. “No,” said the King. 

He almost felt bad for Maijin, who visibly tensed up and looked as if he was just about to do something treasonous. “But, Your Majesty! Why?”

“Presumably my future spouse will be someone I’ve heard of before, and not a one-tankard drunk who’s afraid of magic,” Soren drawled.

Ashnard snorted his amusement. “My son’s future is not going to be in Daein,” he said dryly, “and I’m sure you can imagine why.” 

“The furthest away you can send me is Phoenicias,” Soren pointed out, looking darkly amused. Ike knew he should be used to such talk, but it still boggled his mind at how casually this family insulted each other. “Good luck finding someone for me out there.”

“Now that would be an interesting match. Remind me to send a letter to the Hawk King.” Ashnard waved a hand. “You are dismissed, Maijin.”

The captain's face was bright red as he fled. Ike allowed his hatred for him to dissipate and come back on the next guy. It was some Crimean count, somewhat younger than Maijin but still way too old. “Thank you for your time,” said the man. “Please allow me to formally introduce myself! I am Bastian, Count of Fayre in Crimea. I sincerely hope that even if this meeting does not end in an engagement, it at least ends in lucrative business opportunities for us both.”

Both Soren and Almedha looked decidedly pissed off, and Ike felt another pang of relief. While Ashnard wore the hypothetical (and literal) pants, Almedha more often than not got her way. Clearly a Crimean Count did not meet her standards. Still Ashnard wasn’t shutting this down. “Boy, be polite.”

Soren shot a glare at his father, then to the man. “I am Soren, Prince of Daein and Goldoa,” he said, voice terse.

Bastian smiled at him gently. “Your reputation precedes you, especially your aptitude with wind magic. I, too, specialize in wind magic.”

Ike felt a brief moment of panic - most of these people didn’t have anything in common with Soren! - but he felt infinitely better when Soren took a drink of water and spat it back out as a mock spit-take. 

“What?! Are you sure?!” he asked, eyes wide and innocent, “I don’t sense any spirits around you!”

Bastian was _very_ offended.

* * *

Ike needed to see Soren, for a lot of reasons. Because Today was the Day he was going to confess his feelings (he had a birthday present! Mist told him it was romantic to do it today) and because Ike knew full well Ashnard would not have been pleased with how epically Soren tanked that prospective engagement.

(Although Ike had been _very_ pleased. And impressed. And a little nervous, because what if Soren aimed that wit at _him_?)

Still the day Ike figured out he was strong enough to climb the tree was the day Ike began to do it on a regular basis, because doing so could get him right to the balcony of Soren’s suite. Ike was jealous because he lived with his family still and it was starting to feel a little oppressive (he loved his parents, but he needed privacy!) but Soren got _his own suite._ Perks of being a prince. 

That being said, Ike would rather have his not-prince life and his not-Ashnard-or-Almedha parents than a suite.

The door was, of course, unlocked. He was surprised to see Soren covered in blood and holding a knife, and even more surprised to see a man facing him, holding his side and snarling. “You obnoxious brat!”

Ike had no idea what was going on, and frankly he didn’t care. This would be the first time he got to use a metal blade of his own, and he could think of no finer way to have a first kill. He moved between Soren and the man, sword raised. 

It was Maijin. He was still a captain and Ike was just a squire. But still, Ike wasn’t worried. The man followed Ike’s dad around like a needy duckling (so did Ike, but it wasn’t weird when Ike did it). “Get out of here before I kill you,” Ike told him, part of him hoping he pressed it. But it was obvious the man was the one who was injured, and it was a fairly severe wound. It would be unchivalrous of Ike to kill him in cold blood.

“The general’s kid? Get outta here, this is between me and the lil’ bitch!” Maijin was bleeding profusely from his side. Soren had obviously stabbed him. “I’ll teach him to mouth off at me!”

“Last warning.” Ike was trying to sound as calm and collected as he knew his father would, but also loudly so anyone outside could hear there was trouble. “Back away or die.”

Maijin drew a lance off his back, and Ike steadied his stance. “I bet the king’ll promote me above your dad for offing him!”

Ike was startled, but shouldn’t have been, when the door burst open and General Tauroneo ran in, spear drawn as he unflinchingly skewered Maijin. Ike felt disappointed and relieved that neither he nor Soren had gotten to finish him off, but hey, he was dead. Really, really dead. “My apologies, your highness,” the older man said solemnly. “This cretin came in with the change of the guard. Are you unharmed?”

“Yes, Sir Tauroneo, thank you,” Soren said as if someone had not just tried to kill him. 

The knight regarded Ike thoughtfully before he got a small smirk. “I’ll remove him, then. And saw no one else in your quarters.” Soren glared at him as he left, and Ike fought a blush. Apparently the Four liked to gossip, because Ike’s dad was totally aware of his crush and it seemed like Tauroneo knew too.

Anyway, then Ike turned to check on Soren. The prince himself was paler than usual (although he was never not pale - one time he’d cajoled him into spending a lot of time outside and poor Soren burnt so bad he blistered and ended up just as fair) but Ike quickly noted that all the blood had been Maijin’s; Soren’s robes were stained but uncut. But there were angry red marks on his neck. “You really are okay?” Ike had to ask as he ran a finger over the marks. 

Soren flinched but then calmed himself. The marks were deep and would definitely bruise. It made Ike feel sick to his stomach. “I’m fine. Thank you. I… I should have expected…”

“No, you should never have to think someone is going to kill you,” Ike argued. “What about Assnard?”

Soren snickered. “He was actually amused by my scuttling those talks.”

“Well, good. I’m sorry I wasn’t here earlier, but I was grabbing your birthday gift. Seems dumb now.”

“My… oh. Right. You didn’t have to.” Now there was a little blush. “I honestly forgot.”

Ike shook his head. “No way, I have to! I - I uh. Are you sure you’re okay?” Soren nodded. “Okay! Um. Here.” He fetched out a box and handed it over. “I’ll um, find a vulnerary.” He fled.

It was a puzzle box. Ike hadn’t been able to figure it out, but he didn’t need to - it was for Soren, after all. And inside was… inside was… a rose. It was… it was so unmistakably sappy. There was no way to misinterpret it. Or so his mother had said. 

Everyone apparently knew about Ike’s crush on Soren except Soren. Or maybe Soren did know and was pretending he didn’t…? 

Ike was about to panic and take the box back when he spun and saw that Soren had already solved the darn thing, show off, and he was holding the rose in his hand. His face was a vivid bright red now, in contrast to the darker red of the rose.

“Th-this is nice,” said Soren. “I l-like the box. A-and the uh the um the flower. But um. But um. Ike. Um. Did you um. Did you know… that um. Flowers have a language? And um. You’re um. Saying. Uh. Um.”

“Yes!” Ike blurted, feeling his own face redden. “Yes I - I um. Yes.”

“You… you ha-have…”

“A crush! On you! Although that sounds immature but it’s not I swear, it’s - you’re really amazing and I want to court you!”

Silence fell in the room as Soren fingered the petals of the rose. 

“Wow,” he whispered. “I never thought…”

“But if you don’t want to, that’s fine, you’re still my best friend,” Ike added. “I’m happy either way, I promise!”

“I want to,” Soren shyly said, and Ike could have whooped in victory, “but... you know... there’s no future with me…”

“Huh? Sure there is. You’re the only one for me.” _I’ve wanted to marry you my whole life_ was accurate but coming on way too strong, so he’d been told. 

“It’s not that… it’s that my hand is for sale. Right now things are fine, but I’ll have to marry whoever my father wants me to. But... you'll have my heart."

Ike felt crestfallen at the reminder. He’d hoped if he just forgot about that it wouldn’t be a problem. “Yeah… I’m not good enough, yet.”

Soren flinched, although Ike wasn’t sure why. "Okay."

"And… if I can be good enough at fightin', maybe I can be worthy of your hand." Soren scowled, looking away. Ike took a second to think. Oh. “I’m honored to have your heart, and you've always had mine. But I won't share.”

Soren didn't look at him. "I'm sorry. I don't like it either, but..."

"That's it!" Ike grinned and took both of Soren’s hands. "I'll be a hero an' get so many riches it's crazy and give them all to your parents so we can get married an' then we don't have to worry about what other stupid people think!"

Soren smiled at him, but it didn't meet his eyes. "Sure, Ike."

"Or we could run away," he said softly. "You know I'd rather not be a prince or whatever I'd be. It could be just us. But we'd have to take Pelli which would be weird so maybe we can find him somebody too. All I want is me and you, Soren. I don't care about anything more than I care about that. Okay?" He was sincere but he wanted, needed Soren to know that.

Soren nodded. "Okay."

“Now, for my first act as your boyfriend, I want to cuddle.” Ike grinned.

Soren finally smiled. “Best birthday ever.”

(Soren embraced the fact that his secret crush was now his boyfriend. He was sad, though, because he knew Ike’s ideas would never happen. But Ike was so cute, and they were young, so who knows? Maybe something would change. Maybe if he was very good, his father would let him marry who he wanted.)


	2. A -10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is dedicated to The_Lady_Crane, who suggested it. The timing was perfect as the next chapter takes place not long after they're back from the honeymoon, so the suggestion actually went first!

“Darling, I don’t say this lightly, but this might be the dumbest thing you’ve ever done.” Despite the reproach in her words, Elena was obviously amused. 

Ike gave his mother his most innocent look even as he adjusted his tunic, prepared for a fancy family dinner. “I’m sure I have no idea what you mean! I’m just going to eat dinner with my in-laws. Completely normal and smart.”

“You’re going to crash a dinner you weren’t invited to,” she corrected him fondly. “You want them to like you, remember?”

“Eh, do I really, though? I mean they are still awful people. Except Pelleas, and even he has his moments.” Not really, but mocking Pelleas was fun even when not warranted. His mother did not deign this with a response. “I promise to be mostly on my best behavior.”

“Then why are you bringing a lute with you?” she asked pointedly. 

“To serenade my new family, of course.”

“After crashing a dinner you weren’t invited to, you plan on singing to them. Ike. Ike.” Finally she couldn’t pretend to be stern anymore and she laughed. “You know this is only going to make them hate you more.”

“Then they should have invited me too,” he retorted. “You’ve all but adopted Soren, so the least they could do is acknowledge I exist.”

Elena sighed, obviously giving up. “If I didn’t know better, I’d say give them the benefit of the doubt - after all you did just get back from the honeymoon, so maybe they missed him. But I do know better. Still, I don’t want to lose my darling son so young, so I’m taking this.” She nabbed the lute and handed him a bottle of wine. Ike pouted at her. “Just try to be somewhat polite. You can use this as a gift for the hosts. _Pretend_ like you were invited.”

“Fiiine.”

* * *

Bryce and the Black Knight were standing outside the royal family’s private dining chamber. Ike pondered possibly needing to bribe them to get in, but Bryce was obviously not invested in keeping anyone non-dangerous out. The Black Knight was the same way - definitely not here for loyalty, but rather just _here._ If Ike wasn’t aware of Ashnard’s horrible tendencies, he would feel bad for him since none of his people were particularly interested in doing more than the bare minimum. As far as Ike was concerned, all the oaths he’d been forced into applied to Soren, not Ashnard. That was the only way he could stomach the whole concept of being a knight.

Anyway, he walked in with impunity, and the four people at the table stared up at him. “Sorry I’m late.” He took advantage of the confusion his arrival had brought and pulled a chair to the table, between Soren and Pelleas. “A gift for the hostess.” He handed over the bottle of wine to Almedha.

He had to school himself to not laugh. Almedha was obviously baffled, unused to such deliberate defiance. Ashnard looked as if he was trying to place where he knew Ike from. Pelleas was trying to not laugh. Soren’s expression was unreadable, which Ike knew was because he felt a lot of conflicting emotions. Ike might be sleeping on the couch tonight, but it was totally worth it.

“Soren my love, have you told them about the sights of Gallia? A lovely place, perfect for a honeymoon.” He winked at his husband. 

He finally snapped out of his confused daze. “Ah, yes. The most memorable by far was the beach. Water as far as the eye can see. A little overwhelming, but mostly breathtaking.”

“I thought you would say the warmth was your favorite,” Ike gently teased him. “You almost showed off skin!”

“Well, that was enjoyable,” Soren agreed. 

Almedha looked ready to speak, so Ike quickly moved to bring Pelleas into the conversation. “Sorry I had to steal your brother from you, but I hope you did well in his absence.”

“Oh, well, I’ll admit it was hard to adjust at first - we’ve never been apart for so long! I will forgive you if you brought me souvenirs. I haven’t been to Gallia since I was much younger. I found it exciting, if a little scary at first. But I remember being comforted by how confident you were, Papa.”

“They were just happy to have someone not afraid of them,” Ashnard recalled. “My father was. He was a fool.”

“Anyone who fears the laguz simply for being laguz is a fool,” Ike agreed. That got him a nod of approval from Ashnard. It made him feel a little shame, but he reminded himself that they were agreeing about something important. It’s not like he was agreeing that hitting your kids was the best parenting strategy. “That being said, I had a question about him, if you don’t mind my asking.” Almedha was about to interject (likely to say she did mind him asking), “You were the youngest of twenty-six children, right? Those weren’t _all_ by your mother…?”

Ashnard laughed. “Ye gods no. This one,” he gestured to his wife with a hand, “has been complaining about having two children for the past seventeen years. No, my father was very fond of maids and whores. Four of the twenty-six were legitimate, myself included.”

And then he’d killed them all with a blood pact, Soren had said. On the one hand, Ike found the whole idea grotesque. On the other hand, _one_ Ashnard was too much, let alone twenty-five of them.

“Well now I feel less pity for your mother,” Ike said with a sigh of relief.

“If we have children, we need to have at least 27,” Soren said with a sly smirk. “I refuse to lose to my ancestors.”

“I will only agree to that if you carry them all,” Ike said with a grin.

Holy hells, had Ike seriously managed to pull this off? 

“What are you doing here?” Almedha demanded.

Aw nuts. Thought too soon.

“He’s part of the family now, Mother,” said Soren breezily. “The invitation to this lovely dinner was family only.”

“Yes, thank you for the food, Mama,” Ike said with saccharine sweetness. Soren hadn’t called her that in _years._

She went rigid, and Ike was a little worried he’d pushed too far, but then Ashnard sighed and said, “Get over it, Medha.”

Her head snapped to glare at him. He did not look daunted at all. She got up and left the room. 

“Thank you for making her leave,” Soren ‘joked’ to Ike. He dragged her plate over to him, knowing he would want her leftovers. He sure did, and began eating.

“It does make things much easier,” Ashnard agreed. “And you really are your father’s son. He pulled this same stunt himself years ago.”

“Really?” Ike always liked anecdotes about his parents, and he especially liked being compared positively to his father.

“It was part of the religious nonsense that goes into the birth of royal children,” he recounted, looking wistful. “Your mother had just been named the High Priestess and she was visibly nervous about performing the rites. So your father put you in a sling and came in even though it was supposed to be just the family and the priestess.” He shook his head fondly. “He enjoys bending the rules. As I do as well, I certainly don’t mind.”

“No one who’s seen him fight would tell him no,” Pelleas agreed. “Thankfully he’s quite nice too.”

Soren pushed his plate away. “I’m going to retire for the evening. Thank you for the dinner, Father.” He stood, and Ike stood too, giving him a nod of agreement before following Soren out. 

“I cannot believe you did that,” Soren said the moment the door was closed. It made Bryce and the Black Knight both snicker. 

“I cannot believe it worked as well as it did,” Ike agreed, still somewhat shocked. 

“See, my father isn’t _that_ bad.”

“Yes he is, and his approval fills me with shame. But I got to troll your mother, eat some tasty food, be a buffer between you and the crazies, and make your dad acknowledge I exist. All in all, a good-”

Soren grabbed Ike by the collar and pulled him into a kiss. “You’re sleeping on the couch tonight, dumbass,” he said with love. He let Ike go and resumed walking.

_Called it, but still worth it._ Ike followed, pondering how he was going to sneak his way back into his husband’s good graces… and his bed.


	3. A -9.5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Haven't decided on an upload schedule... I think twice a week since these are shorter chapters? I'm wingin' it!

“My sweet, this is Baron Arden von Ward, from the southern regions,” Almedha purred, gesturing to the man she was standing with. 

It was a social gathering with all sorts of nobility, but Soren didn’t recognize this particular one. Diplomacy was never his strong suit, hence why Pelleas was the preferred Crown Prince. Soren had neither the patience nor the mind for it. And the Baron here was likely to be no exception, considering his mother’s smirk and the fact that he was basically pure muscles. 

“Why hello, your Hotness, I mean, Highness.” He winked. 

“He was asking about how to get a private audience with you... I thought I would introduce you directly!” 

Soren was not that thirsty, even before his happy marriage of six months. This man may have had Ike’s muscles, but that wasn’t, and had never been, the only reason Soren loved Ike. Was it bad his mother knew his type, though? Sort of? In a purely offensive way? The most offensive way to interpret it, in fact? Yes, it's bad. Why does he tolerate her again? Oh right, he has no choice but to. 

But… well… not that he was considering actually sleeping with this man, but the Ward region was home to the best vineyards and they could use more wine… especially after this conversation…. “Hello, Baron.” 

“I like to flex. I could flex for you, in private.” He winked again. 

Soren could feel a migraine brewing even as his mother smiled, beaming with evil delight. “Why don't you two get better acquainted on the private balcony?” 

Soren gave his mother a dirty look. He didn’t want to encourage her, but this guy was clearly an idiot and a look at Soren's collarbone could get a massive discount... decisions, decisions... He glanced around for Ike and didn’t see him. He marveled a moment on his husband’s amazing ability to vanish from polite society. It was a skill Soren needed to learn. Regardless, he decided to indulge his evil pragmatic side. “Fair enough. Come along... Baron.” He already forgot the man’s actual name. 

The Baron and Almedha both had smirks now, and as Soren walked it was obvious the man was staring at his ass. This was going to be too easy. And his mother was going to be sorely disappointed. He knew she didn’t like Ike, but trying to encourage Soren to have an affair? Well, he shouldn’t have been surprised. Soren knew his heart and knew that Almedha could find the world’s most perfect man, and if it wasn’t Ike, Soren wouldn’t consider it. Not that Almedha knew that, clearly, considering the blatant evil glee on her face. Oh well. 

The balcony was empty, and no one was in the courtyard below. “Now before you say anything, let me show you just how muscular I am!” The Baron flexed. 

Soren felt his eye twitch. He just sighed. “Lovely. You are very muscular.” 

“Thanks. My muscles aren't the only thing about me that's big.” He winked again. 

“Ugh.” Seriously? He was going to need the entire vineyard after this. 

“I meant my penis. My penis is also very big.” 

Pushing him off the balcony would be counterproductive, Soren encouraged himself, so focus on the wine and escaping this conversation. “I figured that out. So, the Ward region has recently decreased its export of wine, is there any reason-” 

The Baron pulled down his trousers. “See? I was telling the truth!” 

Soren said nothing. There were no words to describe this atrocity. 

Ike of course chose that moment to walk in. “Here you a – are?” He was holding flowers, which began to shake as he took in the scene. 

The Baron picked up on exactly none of the atmosphere. “Excellent, a servant! Flowers! Those aren't snacks. I did eat some once but they weren't tasty at all. Go get some food, could you? I'm about to go to pound town on this twink and we'll need food!” 

Soren buried his face in his hands, not sure if he wanted to laugh or cry. “I'm going to kill my mother,” he vowed. Before he could explain the situation though, Ike slapped the other man with the flowers before body-checking him off the balcony. Well, that solved it, laughing it was! “Thank you, he deserved that!” 

Ike was visibly horrified. “What the… what _was_ that?" Even he, a bit of a goody two-shoes, did not seem upset that he may have just killed someone. 

Soren couldn’t contain his mirth. “That was a baron from the south attempting diplomacy the old fashioned way. And failing horribly. Oh so horribly.” 

“But… I am just... Ugh..." 

“It was my mother’s suggestion. But don't worry, nothing was going to happen. I would have figured out how to knock him off the balcony myself somehow. Or maybe ordered him to jump.” He walked over to Ike, because poor Ike was still haunted. “Flowers?” 

“Uh, yeah. For you. Because I know how much you hate parties. A few might be messed up…” 

Soren happily took them, beaming at his love in adoration. “Nonsense, a few were used to smite my foes. They fought valiantly.” He gave Ike a kiss on the cheek. 

This seemed to knock him out of his shock, and he beamed back. “I love you. And, uh, thanks for uh, not cheating on me, because I bet that’s what your mom wanted.” 

“That is likely exactly what she was hoping for, but it’s never going to happen,” Soren agreed. He blushed a little, as he still did whenever Ike was particularly romantic. “I love you, too.” 

Ike swept him off his feet and into his arms. “Forget the party,” he said as he began the walk to their bedroom. 

“I was there long enough!” 

(Almedha continued to matchmake Soren with a variety of courtiers, all of whom he either outright rejected or used for his own purposes that were not sex. How frustrating! The boy he was with was a romantic, and a single dalliance would end this sham of a marriage and open her baby boy up for someone preferable. Maybe… she might have to drug Pelleas and Soren... they would be good for each other, because she raised them both, but... well. Odd grandbabies. Hmmm...) 

(She never actually did, nor did she ever succeed. Ike was equal parts miffed and amused at her antics. He jokingly encouraged his mother to step passive-aggressive combat up a notch, though. She didn’t.) 


	4. A -9

In moments like this, Soren felt like he was heading a parade. He wanted to go into town. Logic indicated he could have worn a cloak, been inconspicuous, and had no issues. But nooooo, no one was ever okay with the logical way. So Ike was here, fully armed, even though he didn’t need to be, and Bryce was trailing them. It might as well as hung a sign on him saying “look! I have money!”

“What are we looking for?” Ike asked, tense.

Soren gave him a baleful look. “You stop that right now. You are not here as my protector, and even if you were, I don’t need protection. If you’re going to be tense and awkward, go back to the castle.”

Ike flinched. “No, no. Sorry. I can. Be calm.” He chanced a glance back to Bryce, who was pretending he wasn’t there. “This can… this can be a date?”

Soren flushed, still unused to such things even after a year of marriage. After all, they had been a couple for four years but only allowed to actually acknowledge it for one. It made anything public awkward for him. “Oh. Um, okay.”

Ike snatched his hand and squeezed it. “So, a date, like normal people. A normal person shopping date. We can do it.”

Soren nodded and squeezed back, still nervous but willing to fight it because he knew it made no sense. Ike let go of his hand to offer his elbow, and Soren took it as they began to walk.

“To answer your question, there’s a merchant caravan in town that actually sells decent magical artefacts. I also need to check out the various jewelers and blacksmiths as I have an idea for an amulet but can’t find an adequate one. And then there’s a sweet shop that just opened - ridiculously expensive but my goddess I need chocolate.” Ike chuckled. “Oh, and of course anything you see or need or want.”

“Ooooo.” Ike looked over to an outdoor farmer’s market. The advantage of Daein’s coldness was it was all kept frozen and so lasted longer. Soren spotted what had inevitably caught Ike’s eye - a stall selling meats. 

“It’s far before lunch time,” he said with a chuckle even as he let go of Ike’s elbow . He thanked his stars for being rich, because most of their funds went toward keeping Ike well-fed. … which was only slightly an exaggeration. Ike just beamed at him before going over to look for more specific food he wanted. Soren stayed far away, as usual not enticed by meat. Ironic considering he was the half-dragon here, but Soren preferred fruits, vegetables, sweets and breads.

He almost didn’t notice someone stealing from him, and by the time he did notice it was too late. A boy with green hair fled with Soren’s coin bag. Soren scowled and pursued, irritated that his fur-lined boots were not good for running in. He cast as he ran, dodging through confused people as he barely managed to keep his eye on the thief. The ensuing gust of wind knocked over a good portion of the crowd, including the thief. 

Soren would have caught up except someone else grabbed his arms from behind. “Stop in the name of the Daw -“

He snapped his head back, feeling and hearing the back of his head crunch his assailant’s nose.

“Oh OW!” The boy let him go and Soren took a quick look - yes, a boy. Just like the thief, these people were younger than Soren, early teens at the oldest. It threw him off for just a second before he recalled that, oh yes, the thief was going to get away if he didn’t recover himself. He ran over, picking up his bag (magicked to be lighter than it ought) before the thief could. 

Suddenly Ike was there, between Soren and the thief, holding the hair of the boy who’d grabbed him earlier. “Stand down or else.” 

“Ron Sode!” the second boy said, and if the situation weren’t so aggravating Soren would be amused. 

“Okay okay fine,” said the thief, hands up. “You caught us fair and square. Take us to the castle.”

Bryce walked up to them, holding another boy by the arm. “That’s exactly what’s going to happen.”

“Dat’s bad,” said the one with the broken nose.

“No, it’s actually good,” ‘Sode,’ the thief, said. “We have - we have an ally in the castle who can vouch for us. Or - or at least we might…”

“Whatever.” Ike grabbed him too. “I didn’t get to buy anything and it's all your fault.”

* * *

Soren wasn’t sure why, but his curiosity had been piqued. Judging from the way it had all gone down, Soren’s money wasn’t the target, but rather Soren himself. Why would three children want to kidnap him? He shouldn’t care, but he wanted to know. So he and Ike looked over the three, locked up in a cell together.

“So you stole my money to distract me,” he recounted, gesturing to the green-haired thief, “you were supposed to subdue me,” to the brunet boy, “and judging from your bow, you were distance support,” to the blond that Bryce had caught. “None of which explains why three children thought they wanted to, or could, actually capture me.”

“We’re not children! And - and we’re on the side of right! Just - just ask General Ike!” The green-haired boy at least managed to look as if he wasn’t bluffing, which was hilarious, considering. “He’ll help!”

“Why would I help you?” Ike asked. Soren watched in great amusement as the thief turned very, very pale.

The brunet, his nose having been graciously healed, tried his best to smooth things over. “Okay so we don’t actually know Ike - um, you, Sir. Sothe’s just a huge fanboy. And you’re uh supposed to be really just and honorable and we need help. My name’s Edward and I’m also not a child.” 

“I’m Leonardo,” the blond chimed in. “This wasn’t supposed to happen.”

“What was supposed to happen?” Soren asked.

“We would trade you for one of your prisoners.”

“What have you done with Micaiah?” Sothe demanded with some anguish.

“Micaiah?” Ike echoed.

“She’s voluntarily dating my brother, so it shows a lack of common sense on her part, but she’s hardly here against her will,” Soren scoffed.

Sothe looked as if his world had crashed. The other two looked embarrassed.

Soren had to valiantly resist the urge to laugh. “I can tell her you’re here…”

“No! No not like this!” Sothe protested, but it was too late. 

Micaiah moved between Ike, Soren and the bars, looking legitimately angry. “ _What were you idiots thinking_?”

Ike grinned and took Soren’s hand, gently tugging, as the prisoners groveled. “Well, so much for date day,” he said with a soft laugh as they left the dungeon.

“Let’s be honest, it wouldn’t be our date day if something hadn’t gone wrong,” Soren agreed, smiling too.


	5. A -9

Soren stared at the beautiful piece of jewelry in his hands, unseeing as his mind whirred. What to do, what to do? He wasn’t any good at this…

Ike had given him a magical pendant. To add insult to injury, it hadn’t been for any particular reason. “I saw it and thought of you,” he’d said. “You mentioned you wanted one, so.”

How… odd.

Of course this couldn’t go unanswered! Soren’s pride would not accept receiving without giving in return. And really the whole thing made him aware of a terrible oversight on his part. Lovers, spouses, got gifts for one another. For anniversaries, holidays, birthdays… and apparently no reason at all, because Ike needed to set high standards in everything. Asshole.

But what to give Ike?

“Soren? Are you okay?”

His first reference was his parents. Oh sure everyone joked about them, but Ashnard and Almedha were a surprisingly well-matched pair. Why, just last week they’d gone on an impromptu lovers’ retreat to conquer a border town. Fantastic for expanding the kingdom, and for keeping the marriage alive. But Ike would probably object, and trips were a hassle. His father had once ordered the public flogging of a lesser nobleman who had worn ugly shoes, which had definitely pleased his mother, but Ike wasn’t so concerned with aesthetics. Oh, once Almedha had given Ashnard the gift of a captured general from Begnion. Almost caused a war, but Ashnard had been in a good mood for three weeks. Did Ike have enemies?

What about Gawain and Elena? Their love was much more cliché. Gawain showered his wife with presents, like flowers and chocolates, and he always gave her jewelry from the places he’d go on missions. Soren had asked Elena why she never got anything for him, and she’d laughed. _I gave him two children. He’s still just paying me back for that._

_Also I don’t particularly care for flowers,_ Gawain had agreed good-naturedly.

Soren wasn’t ready to have any children, and Ike didn’t like sweets… and, presumably, flowers. Although maybe he did?

“Soooooooren? Did I break you?” Ike was looking at him nervously.

“Do you have any enemies?” Soren asked his husband. 

“Wha - what? No! I mean - no! Why would you - do you not like it? I mean, I know it’s probably not what you were going for…”

“It’s absolutely perfect,” Soren admitted. “It’ll hold an enchantment quite nicely. I just wasn’t expecting it.”

“Okay… so… what did that have to do with my enemies?” Ike was starting to look amused now, which was relieving.

“Well, I need to repay you,” Soren replied sensibly, “And the gift of a defeated foe is always an option.”

Ike was silent for a moment before he just fondly sighed, smiled, and hugged Soren. “I love you so damn much. You don’t have to get me anything. I plan on buying you lots of presents over the years, and if you kill someone every time, we’ll run out of people in the country.”

Soren had an ah-ha moment. “Oh duh, the amulet I want to enchant is for you! Obviously, _that_ will be the repayment!”

“You don’t have to repay me. That was my point. And what kind of enchantment are you talking about?”

Ike didn’t like surprises, so Soren humored him. “Well if you’re going to insist on getting into fights for me, then I want you to have a healing amulet. It’ll magically start to heal any wounds, ailments or poisons you’re subjected to. I should have thought of it earlier, but, better late than never.” 

Ike lit up, but Soren knew he was going to try to make Soren keep it. “That sounds wonderful… but shouldn’t _you_ have it?”

So predictable. “Only if you stop challenging everyone who stares at my ass.”

“... … … I will take your present with pride.”


	6. A -5

Elena had one son, and yet four sons. 

Her first adoptee adopting her back had been Ranulf, which was a pleasant surprise; oh he liked to act as if he was an aloof cat, but he rather quickly opened up to her. He liked getting his ears scratched, eating catnip cookies, and taking naps. Although he hid it well, the fact that Elena had no fear of him was greatly endearing to him. It was silly, the way some people were wary of the laguz, but Elena had never felt that concern, even after being raised in Begnion and living in Daein.. It took time to get him beyond the superficial affection, but once he did so, Ranulf was a doll. Her sweet kitty son. 

With that success, she had decided to adopt both Pelleas and Soren as well. Of course Elena had stepped in a long time ago to be just a distant source of support for the twins, but, with Soren and Ike getting married, she was able to be around them both far more often with that bigger excuse. So they were her sons now, too!

As long as no one told Almedha, of course. That was a fight she did not want to have. Even if she would win that fight, guaranteed. She loved these two boys like they were her own, and she genuinely enjoyed their company. She struggled to read the other woman at all, but all of Almedha’s actions indicated that she enjoyed smothering Pelleas and wanted to shake Soren until he gave in to whatever she wanted. Not real love, and not even real like. 

Pelleas was basically like a sweet loving dog, a delicate dewdrop who took and gave affection readily, eagerly. She had to balance their interactions because it was so easy to smother him, because that’s what his role in the family was. The peacekeeper, the lightning rod of love. He was her cinnamon roll son. 

Elena knew it wasn’t uncommon for one child to be scapegoated by an abusive family, and she was fairly certain Soren was that child because of his brand. The fact that he’d reacted by growing up to become incredibly caustic and snarky, drawing more of the hate, made complete sense to her. Soren was far more prickly and distrustful than anyone else she’d ever met. He acted under the assumption that everyone hated him and that he deserved their hate because he was just an awful person. Anyone nice to him was lying, and the only exceptions were Ike and Pelleas, and even then his feelings on them were unstable. He could easily convince himself that even they wanted him gone and were disingenuous. Regardless, he was her dragon son and he wasn’t talking her out of it. Although he tried. 

Elena at least had an easier time than Gawain did. Ranulf was less open with him but still pleasant, Pelleas sought Gawain’s approval, and it was obvious that Soren was very wary, almost afraid, of him. Thanks to Ashnard… 

Elena avoided the King as much as possible, although as she was the head of the Church in the capital she often had to interact with him. He did seem to find Pelleas amusing, and he seemed to be proud of Soren when he wasn’t infuriated with him… and conversely, Pelleas and Soren both seemed to idolize him to varying degrees, both good qualities and bad qualities. So he was surprisingly multi-faceted and couldn’t be written off as a simple megalomaniac sociopath, but he abused Soren in many ways and that was still irredeemable. 

Still, it was a work in progress, especially integrating the trio of adoptees with her husband. This was why the following anecdote, while sort of painful, was actually a treasured moment for her. 

All her boys (well, men, technically, but in her heart they were all boys, except Gawain obviously) were with her today as Elena experimented with a new type of cream cake. Ranulf was regaling them with stories of his recent trip back from Gallia. Soren and Pelleas were communicating silently, both amused about something. Ike was glancing at Soren, then Pelleas, giving them a puzzled look. Gawain had his eyes on the hearth. 

“So Sir Gawain, you used to live in Gallia?” asked Pelleas, the picture of perfect innocence. 

“Well, it was more like a long business trip than actually living there,” said her husband, practically drooling. Ike had inherited being a bottomless pit from his father, no question about that. 

“That’s fascinating. How is it different? Obviously Ranulf would know as well, but his perspective is different than yours would be.” 

“That’s true,” said Gawain. “Well the laguz there are a noble, free spirited people, very strong and brave...” 

“Free spirited?” Pelleas asked, still so innocent. Soren had the same look, which was far more suspicious on him. “What do you mean by that?” 

Ranulf’s ears twitched and it seemed to dawn on him what was going on. Ike was visibly confused as to what the point was. Elena finally understood. 

“Well... they uh, they have customs that we don’t... a little, you know, freer...” 

“How so?” Pelleas was so pure and innocent. 

“Weeeell... you see... we usually have this thing called ‘monogamy...’” 

“No!” Ike shouted, slamming his hand on the table, “No you are not going into another sex talk! Dear gods Dad!” 

Pelleas and Soren both pouted. 

Ranulf sighed in relief. "Thanks, Ike." 

Elena tsked at the brothers. “Very funny, you two.” 

“Sorry, just in our family, awkward talk is ‘so then I discovered that someone can shit themselves with a spear shoved up their arse,’” said Pelleas with a slightly apologetic smile. 

“Father has many talents, small-talk is not one of them,” Soren agreed. 

“My talks aren’t awkward,” Gawain muttered. 

Ranulf was grinning broadly, though. "I could cite examples for Gawain... although really, it's not like we have sex out in the open. I hope that wasn't your one lasting impression of us!” 

“No no,” her husband said, “It’s just, you never forget getting propositioned by a lion.” 

Soren’s jaw dropped a little. “Which lion?” 

“Caineghis.” 

“Wow.” 

“We were just engaged so he said no,” Elena offered. 

"Wow, really? Well you missed out on an excellent night, so I've been told," Ranulf said. "You should be flattered. He is very, very, very selective. Only the finest for the king." 

Gawain merely shrugged, his ears turning red. Her poor hubby. 

“Does Caineghis try to sleep with all strong warriors?” Pelleas mused, “Do you think he’s slept with Father?” 

Soren regarded him with horror. “Oh my gods Pelleas did you just say that?” 

Pelleas scoffed. “Do you think  _ Father _ tries to sleep with all strong warriors? I mean honestly that’s really in character for him.” 

“Are you trying to kill me? Is that it?? I don’t want to picture Ashnard having sex with anything!” 

“It explains why he keeps the Four around so often…” 

“OH MY GODS.” 

“No,” said Ike and Gawain, neither looking at all intrigued at that prospect. Not that Elena had any doubts, of course. If Gawain resisted Titania, he would resist anyone. Not that Titania had made any efforts! It was just obvious she had a crush. … Which of course meant that Gawain was oblivious. 

Ranulf was completely amused. “His tastes are very… singular. Ashnard’s, I mean. For all his faults, he’s always been remarkably faithful to your mother. Now if that means his type is ‘dragon,’ or just ‘strong woman,’ I’m not sure.”

Soren was now very pale, and Elena was worried. “Any other topic,” he said. 

She stepped in to the rescue. “Gawain my love, I have an idea. Why don’t you try to bond with the boys?”

It was… it was not good, what happened next. 

First Gawain tried to play catch, a cliché activity that he had done with Ike and Mist back when they were children. Pelleas tried, bless his cinnamon roll heart, but failed to catch anything. Ranulf caught the ball just fine but refused to give it back, looking overly pleased with himself. And Soren made no effort to even pretend to be remotely interested. Ike and Elena observed with barely-disguised laughter. 

She suggested they try something else. Gawain suggested training, and Elena had to put her foot down fast and hard on that one. (“Don’t you dare go near Pelli with a sharp weapon!” “... yeah he would die…”)

Then he tried teaching barbecue. Ranulf was stoked, calling Gawain the best dad ever. Pelleas tried but burnt himself. Soren mused that burning flesh was one of his father’s favorite torture methods. (“Father-son bonding,” said Soren. Elena had no idea if he was joking, but she sure hoped so.)

Gawain offered to teach them to fish. Ranulf scoffed at that because as a cat, he was an expert fisherman. Pelleas turned pale at the thought of touching worms. Soren stated, “I refuse to get anywhere near any body of water that might have a fish in it. Too many drowning attempts. Father-son bonding time.”

(“... I can't tell if you're being honest or trolling me,” Gawain admitted. Soren did not elaborate, but he did look smug.)

And then Gawain gave up, and Elena couldn’t well blame him. But, although it had been an abject failure, she would hold it close in her heart… and never forget the look on Gawain’s face when Ranulf refused to give him the ball back.


	7. A -4

Soren’s mother was the queen of Daein but also of overcompensation, especially when it came to dealing with other laguz royalty. How else could one possibly justify him being in this situation?

“The dragons are also known for our singing abilities,” she said with pride. Soren knew his mother could carry a tune, but saying it was something she was known for was a major stretch. 

Especially when talking to _a heron._

But Queen Leanne of Kilvas was a good faker. So was her husband, now that Soren thought about it, but they utilized it in different ways. “I wasn’t aware,” she chirped. “I know you have many other talents, but I didn’t know about singing.”

Soren found all of this degrading. Why was he here? He was supposed to be observing his father deal with Naesala, a famed shrewd negotiator. But for some reason Almedha had insisted that Soren accompany her as she entertained Naesala’s wife. 

“We have a particular lullaby that has been passed down for generations!”

“Technically only two,” Soren interjected. “Although Dheginsea counts as a couple generations on his own.”

It boggled his mind, sometimes, to think that Almedha was in her 400s. With a beorc comparison, she was in her early 20s. Ashnard was in his late 40s. So she was either half his age, or ten times it. She was either _Soren’s_ age, or _twenty times older than him!_

“You have no idea,” Almedha drawled. “Anyway, Mopsy, that’s why I asked you to come with me today. We need to entertain our lovely guest!”

Oh sweet Goddess. She wanted them - him - to sing. _For a heron._

“No.” 

Leanne giggled even as Almedha glared at him. “I am your mother, young man. You know the song, I used to sing it for you. It’s very important.”

Ah yes, the lullaby always used to get stuck in his head, so even though it had been years since she sang it with him, he still remembered. But important? Why on earth would she say it was important? Maybe he needed to humor her. “I can play piano for you,” he offered as a compromise. 

He was more skilled with the violin, but he was an accomplished piano player. Completely against his will. And Ashnard’s too; despite being an excellent art patron for the populace (due to the ‘bread and circuses’ aspect of ruling), he thought it was a waste of time for his own children. Almedha had insisted, saying it was a necessary part of a well-rounded, courtly upbringing. It was just more proof that the only reason she was not a complete equal in this relationship was because they were on his home turf. His mother would bow to no one. It was the one thing he admired about her.

The _only_ thing.

“Very well.” She smiled at him, which was weird, before grandly gesturing to the piano in the entertaining room. He sat down, flexing his fingers before getting situated. It had been a long time, but the melody was a simple one. 

“You ought to sing, too,” she said.

“Only if you tell me why it’s important.”

“You’re supposed to be the smart one. You figure it out.”

His eye twitched, but he took a second to think. What did he know? It was passed down by the dragon tribe, and it was important. 

Wait.

Rajaion had said that dragons possessed an ability to transfer some of their longevity to another person. Soren had been researching such a thing and found no leads. Rajaion hinted that his mother knew about it, but she wouldn’t tell him so that it wouldn’t get back to Ashnard.

Was the song a reagent? But there had to be will behind it, because she had sung it enough to him and Pelleas in their youth without it making any noticeable difference. 

She was touching a stone on her neck. Her dragon stone. 

Ah ha. The stone, the song, and the will to use it. That had to be it!

Unless he was just reading into things… 

Well, he’d follow up with her later. As much as he wanted to demand answers, now wasn’t the time. He would humor her in the meantime. He began to play, his voice joining hers in a duet:

_“You are the ocean’s gray waves/destined to seek life beyond the shore, just out of reach/but the waters ever change, flowing like time/the path is yours to climb”_

The door to the entertaining room opened, and Soren abruptly stopped. Ike walked in, a man on a mission, and he wasn’t sure what to make of it. Hopefully he hadn’t heard that! “Sorry to interrupt, but I need to talk to Soren.”

Oh Ike. So many social graces. 

“No,” said Almedha, glaring at him. 

He smiled back at her, saccharine. “Oh but Mama, it’s very important. Trust me, you’ll approve.” He took Soren’s hand and all but dragged him from the room. 

Soren snorted in amusement. “What do you want?” he asked, thankful to have escaped. There would be more time to humor her to get the answers he needed. 

Ike took a deep breath and turned to face him, placing his hands on his shoulders to assure eye contact. They were in the middle of a hallway, but thankfully no one else was around. “So. I had to tell you this now before I lost my cool. But first, you have a nice singing voice.”

“Shut up.”

“I’m serious, but that wasn’t what I wanted to say. I wanted to say that I want to start a family.”

Soren was gobsmacked.

“As in, I want to have a baby.”

“...”

“With you.”

“... …”

“Obviously.”

“... … …”

“You said it can be done with magic, right? And while I’d volunteer to be the mom, the fact of the matter is that if I can’t use a sword and fight, I’m useless. And, and I know your mom said that you’re free to, uh, knock up with whoever you want, but frankly if you sleep with anyone else I’ll kill them.”

“Unf.” Soren could listen to Ike be possessive all day any day. But the surprise was still overpowering everything else.

“But I think you’ll do a great job, and we have a huge support group. Plus um, plus it adds some seriousness to our relationship - I mean we are serious obviously, but maybe your mom and dad will stop being such bitches if we have a blood heir? But really I just want to have a family with you because I love you.”

“... … … …”

“Soren? Are you okay?”

“I did not see this coming,” he admitted. 

Ike smiled. “Yeah. I was talking to my dad, and my mom overheard. To say she’s excited is an understatement, even though I know we hadn’t talked about it recently. So it gave me the courage to bring it up now. What do you think?”

What _did_ Soren think?

“You do realize that it’s probably for the benefit of all that I never reproduce,” he admitted. 

Ike scoffed. “Sure, Mister Long-Lived Magic Genius Double Prince.”

“You have met both my parents, and they’re both crazy!”

“Yeah, but _you_ aren’t. They won’t raise our kid, _we_ will. And if you’re hinting we choose a surrogate, the answer to that is a big fat no. I have a kid with you, or no one.”

Soren blushed terribly. He was still very weak to Ike’s insistence that he actually loved him. 

It made it all worth it, didn’t it?

“All right. Let’s do this.” 

Ike looked surprised, then grinned big before hugging Soren tightly. Soren hoped he wasn’t making a mistake. 


	8. A -4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two chapters today, because they're really short :)

A -4

Soren was too tired to do anything today. Eat, read, think - none of it. He just felt a bone-deep exhaustion atypical of himself. Normally when ill, he was the first to overcompensate by insisting he was fine and acting accordingly, because weakness of any kind was not permitted in this house. But today he just… couldn’t. Even when Ike had done his absolute best to look brave as he coddled him, Soren couldn’t muster up the energy to do anything but sleep.

The reason was obvious. For this to happen a month after using a gender-changing potion? He hadn’t even needed to tell Ike, it was that clear.

“You’re pregnant, and you need to abort.”

When had his mother gotten here? He glanced up and yes, there she was, sitting by his bed. 

“My pregnancy with you and Pelleas was difficult, with me and your father closer in size. You will die.”

“Says the woman who’s been asking for grandbabies for years,” Soren mumbled, proud of himself for talking.

“Not with him!” she retorted. “Goddess’s mercy Soren, do you ever  _ think _ ?” He held up his middle finger at her, but she pressed on. “He’s twice your size and has less than a quarter of your intellect and talents! So was Skrimir but at least he had a whole kingdom to offer! I told you this boy is not good for you!”

Irritation and anger was overpowering his exhaustion, and he sat up. “Believe it or not, I love him. I love him so much I decided to put myself through this so we can start a family together, because he wants to. I’m not knocking up a lady-in-waiting, and I’m not going to let anyone else knock me up. You can either accept this, or get out.”

“Think of what you dying would do to me! I love you more than he does!” Her voice was icy cold. 

“If I had more energy, I would laugh at you for saying that.” There wasn’t even a comparison here. 

“Believe what you will.” She stood up, her spine a steel rod. “You’ll see I’m right in the end.” She left, and Soren decided to flip her off again behind her back.

Ike came in as she left, looking just as pissed as Soren felt. He put a tray of food on the nightstand before getting into bed, wrapping around Soren and holding him tightly. “I have no idea how she got in here. I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be.” He leaned in, relaxing. 

“Is there a chance she’s right? I mean… is this dangerous?”

“No,” Soren answered with more confidence than he felt. “I’m stronger than she thinks I am. Also, she’s a melodramatic moron.”

Ike kissed his forehead. “Well, she was wrong about her loving you more than I do.”

“Exactly. Everything will be fine, my love.” He closed his eyes. He really was still very tired.


	9. A -3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also, because it was asked -
> 
> They numbers are a countdown of years. “A” is an abbreviation for the event the summary says will change everything, so this chapter takes place 3 years before it :3

Ike was rubbing his hand all over Soren’s abdomen. “It’s crazy that a week ago you were out to here,” he mused, moving his hand high above. 

“Priam’s a big boy,” Soren agreed. He was still exhausted, but quite pleased overall. Ike placed his hand back down to resume rubbing. “That being said… we need to discuss his name.”

“Really? Priam Ralleus Daein-Greil is a great name.”

“It’s missing that certain something.” Don’t smirk, don’t smirk. “How about Prickly Pear Priam?”

Ike’s hand stopped moving. “ _Did you just.”_

“Peyote Priam would be easier,” Soren admitted.

Ike rolled out of bed in a huff. “I want a divorce,” he said, leaving the room.

“You’ll come tumbling back, Echinocereus Ike!” Soren called after him before he permitted himself a snicker at his own joke. It took seven years for him to finally use it, and it was totally worth it! He really was hilarious. 


	10. A -2.5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The plot has finally shown up in earnest!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warning for attempted self-harm. He doesn't succeed and it's all from Ike's POV, but Soren is majorly triggered.

Ike tapped his fingers on the wall, ready for Soren to emerge from his father’s quarters in any minute. Grandfatherhood had mellowed Ashnard somewhat, and he rarely became physically violent with Soren anymore, but emotionally was another story and Soren was still exceptionally vulnerable to his father’s opinions. 

Case in point, Soren left the royal chambers with his spine stiffened with pride and his head held high, which to Ike meant he was triggered. Ike fell into step behind him, watching for any more signs… 

The second Soren was back in their own suite, he immediately began to claw at his own arms. Ike caught him and twined their fingers together, because although he hadn’t made any progress, with time he would have escalated to finding a knife. Regardless, Ike wasn’t going to let this go further. “Come back to me, Soren.” 

“Let me go,” he hissed, fighting. He was surprisingly strong but nowhere near Ike’s level, and he was able to hold him tight. 

“Never. Whatever he told you, it’s not worth hurting yourself. I don’t even care what he said because I know it’s not true.” Soren was still fighting, so Ike continued on his soothing monologue. “You’re too good for him, for how he treats you. But you need to stop trying to hurt yourself.” 

Whatever it had been must have touched a sensitive nerve, because Soren fought until he was exhausted, which was unusual for him. By the end he was breathing heavily and covered in sweat as he went limp. Ike’s heart hurt, but he kept as calm and soothing as he physically could manage the entire time. “Do you want to talk about it?” he offered gently. 

“No,” he managed weakly. “I just want to change.”

Ike did one better - he made sure that no wounds were present (they weren’t), gave Soren a bath, got him into clean pajamas, and put his pampered exhausted self to sleep.

And then, not for the first time and not for the last, Ike plotted to himself how he could kill Ashnard.


	11. A -2.5

Baby Priam, born a scant six months ago, purred as he sucked on a bottle. Everyone “aww’ed,” which Soren had to assume he was used to by now. He was incredibly cute and, as the only child/grandchild in both Daein-Greil family trees, spoiled absolutely rotten. 

It was a peaceful night starring Elena’s home-cooked meals, an unofficial celebration of Soren being done with having a female body and thus being “back to normal” after having had Priam. It had been a long eight months carrying him, followed by nursing for as long as possible. 

Priam had driven three wet-nurses into retirement, in addition to Soren. 

“Wait a minute, is he  _ purring _ ?” Mist asked, eyes bright. She in particular was weak to her nephew’s adorableness. 

Before Soren or Ike could speak up, Gawain declared, “I knew it! I  _ knew, _ ” he looked at his little grandson, “that you would be part Ranulf. They all laughed at me, but  _ I knew _ .” 

Ranulf, Titania and Pelleas laughed even as Ike facepalmed. Soren sighed. “Dragons purr when they’re happy too.”

“I can’t and I’ve never heard Soren do it,” Pelleas added, grinning, “Mama sometimes does but it’s not appropriate.” 

“It isn’t when Soren does either, for a different reason I suspect,” Ike said smugly, earning him an elbow to the ribs from his husband. “Ow, geez!” 

“I was kidding, Ike is definitely his father, it’s  _ Soren’s  _ part I call into question.” Gawain gently petted the mass of blue hair on the baby’s head. “He’s basically a mini-Ike.” 

“It is simply a shame that the kitten here doesn’t have my ears or tail, buuuuut alas, I am just the cool uncle.” Ranulf flipped his tail up, and Priam reached out to grab it. He smiled big around the bottle nipple still in his mouth. 

Elena put out two trays of cookies. “When can I expect a grandkitten from you two?” she asked slyly. It made both Titania and Ranulf freeze. “Orrrr Pelleas, my darling sweet, you and your ladyfriend Micaiah.” Now Pelleas was frozen, too. 

Ike grinned at the three. “Yeah, c’mon you guys, Priam needs cousins!” 

“What about me?” Mist demanded of her mother. 

“You need to choose between Boyd and Rolf before I want grandbabies from you,” Elena said with a smile. 

“Please don’t encourage Pelleas to reproduce,” Soren said, grabbing a cookie. He made a face. “Ugh, catnip cookie.” 

That spooked Ranulf out of his shock and he grabbed the tray that cookie had been on, dragging them all closer to himself. “Mine.” 

“I can’t take you anywhere,” Titania said fondly, happy at the topic change. 

Soren continued to hold the rejected cookie, trying to keep it out of reach to make Ranulf work for it. He was visibly amused even as Ranulf pried it from his fingers. His face turned more serious though as he regarded his mother- and father-in-law. “So, do either of you know anything about weapons and armor blessed by the Goddess?” 

Despite the casual way he asked it, everyone at the table looked at him. “Just curious,” he said lamely. 

“I see our King has loose lips,” Gawain mused. “Yes, he now owns a set of Goddess-blessed armor, a gift from Begnion. I take it you know that.” 

“He’s quite proud of it,” Soren agreed. “And of the fact that said armor is impervious to any damage… unless the weapon is also Goddess-blessed. You wouldn’t happen to own a blessed tome, would you?” 

Ike and Pelleas both protested that at the same time, for somewhat different reasons. “Soren no!” 

“You can’t talk about this!” Pelleas continued. 

“I won’t let you put yourself in danger,” Ike said firmly. 

Soren was not surprised by the two, but kept his gaze on Elena and Gawain. “I’m just asking.” 

The couple glanced at each other. 

“No,” said Gawain slowly, “No tomes...” 

“Are we seriously discussing treason at the dinner table?” Mist asked, paling. “Because that’s what it sounds like?” 

Everyone looked to Soren for confirmation. 

“My father and I had tea yesterday,” he said quietly. “Part of that involved talking about the bloodlines in Priam and how… how he would make an excellent warrior. A Rider, in time.” It was clear from the looks that not everyone understood the ramifications. “If he has his way he will break Priam, turn him into a twisted sociopath too. I will not let that happen to my son! If you know of a weapon that can pierce his armor, tell me and I’ll learn to wield it!” 

Ike was quiet, but his jaw was tight as he also looked at his parents. 

Gawain and Elena shared another look before Gawain admitted, “Ragnell and Alondite were the twin swords used by the holy warrior Altina… and they are in my possession.” 

“How?” Titania asked in shock. 

“Shit,” Soren muttered as his face fell. “I…” don’t have the physicality to use a goddamn sword “better start doing push-ups.” 

Ike looked at Soren. "No. No, no." He looked at his father. “I will need one of the swords then.”

"Do not tell me no!" Soren snapped at Ike. 

Gawain was a little guilty but he ignored Soren too. "You can train with one," he informed his son, "as long as you are discreet." At the enraged expression from Soren, he amended, "That goes for you, too. If anyone finds out I have those... it could end poorly."

Ike refocused on Soren. "You aren't. I am. Just in case. Obviously, no one hurts our son."

“There's two swords, so of course I am going to!" Soren informed Ike, furious and not hiding it at all. "I - shit of course it had to be fucking swords!" 

Pelleas got up and hugged Soren. "Hey. Hey. Breathe." Soren rather unhappily complied.

"Guys I don't like any of this," Mist whined nervously. "I mean this is really serious!"

Gawain looked to Titania. "You'll have to challenge and remove Bryce from the Four. He's a kind man but if he's still Ashnard's bodyguard, he won't step aside. And you can't defeat the Black Knight."

Titania nodded slowly. "Okay. I can try..." 

Ike frowned. "Or me?” He didn't want to put Titania in danger.

"You're already a member of the Four, you defeating Bryce would serve no purpose," Gawain explained. "Only a challenger can remove a member. And Bryce is very strong but he's always been weak to opponents using axes."

"No pressure," Titania joked lightly. "But, if we're doing this, we might as well go all-in. Priam is my nephew, after all." 

Ike nodded, realizing as usual he'd been gungho to protect without thinking it through. He tried to smile at Titania. "Thanks. We can do this, as a team."

Pelleas finally felt confident that he could let go of Soren, and Soren sank back to his seat and buried his face in his hands. "Thank you. Sorry." 

Ranulf’s ears flicked. "Officially, of course, I can't back anything. But as an uncle, nobody hurts the kitten."

Priam made it to the end of his bottle, and pouted. "Beef?" he asked aloud. It was his codeword for saying he was still hungry. 

Soren still hid his face but he laughed a little, helpless. "I could be overreacting. At this rate Priam would sooner eat my father than serve him."

Ike sat and put an arm around his husband. "Better to be prepared just in case."

Soren nodded, finally pulling his hands down. "Thank you, all of you. I'm sorry I'm not enough yet, but, having all of you between Priam and danger is very... reassuring."

"Aww," said Pelleas.

Ike nodded his agreement at his family.

"He's my grandson, and no one is hurting him while I live," Gawain said gently. "I'm sorry I didn't have what you wanted." 

(But not really sorry, because as upset as Soren was right now, Ike would have been a hundred times worse if there was a tome and no sword instead.)

Soren nodded, clenching his hands on his arms. "I know." 

"On a lighter note, I'm flattered you're so blasé about my joining the Four, thank you," Titania said to her master, who chuckled. 

Ike was feeling contradictory emotions. He was upset about the threat to Priam, but… also a tiny bit relieved. A legitimate-for-Soren reason to kill the psychotic king. He'd waited a long time for this.

"Can you keep Priam for an hour?" Soren abruptly asked, looking at Elena.

She nodded, face twisted with sympathy and concern. "Of course."

Soren quickly thanked her and just as quickly kissed his baby on the forehead before leaving, Ike following.

Back in their own quarters, Soren started to disrobe to scratch his stress-induced hives. Ike ran to fetch the cream, well used to the variety of ways Soren’s body rebelled against him when upset. "I'm sorry - for not telling you privately, for not being able to keep our son safe possibly, for ruining dinner and roping your family into this, for not being able to use a goddamn sword - I'm sorry Ike, if this is the final straw I understand that, you can take Priam and move to Crimea or something, safer for everyone." 

Ike shook his head as he started to apply ointment. In the short amount of time Soren had scratched significantly, and the hives were bleeding. "Does that sound like something I would do?”

"No but it sounds like something you should do. I" he paused to consider his words "I'm feeling a lot. Too much. Most important thing is Priam."

Ike pulled Soren to him and held him tight and close. "Of course you're upset. But it will be okay, I know it. I'm sorry your father is what he is. But it isn't your fault, and of course we'll keep Priam safe."

Soren absolutely melted into him, Ike having hit a bullseye of a perfect response. "Thank you."

Ike debated but decided honesty was vital. “I actually am kind of mad at you, though.” Soren tensed so he quickly continued, “I’m guessing your breakdown yesterday was because of your dad talking about Priam?”

“Yes?”

He wasn’t sure how to put this. “How old were you when your dad started to hurt you?” he asked bluntly.

There was a pause. “I honestly don’t know. Young, I guess.”

“A hint of threat against Priam was enough to get you plotting assassination. Him verbally and physically hurting you for what, twenty years, that wasn’t. You… I just. Damn.” He let out a breath. “Welcome to the Ashnard Needs to Die Painfully Club. Founded the first time he touched you unkindly.” 

Soren buried his face in Ike’s shoulder. “Sorry.”

“We meet on Tuesdays and it’s always a potluck, so bring food,” he said with some levity. He’d aired his concerns, and that was enough.

He chuckled. “I feel like I’m being manipulated. I wouldn’t be shocked if your first word was ‘beef,’ too.”

He smiled and kissed his husband’s forehead. “I love you, Soren. It will be fine. I will protect you. Both of you.”

“And I you.”


	12. A -2.25

A -2.25

“Who’s the best baby in the whole world?” Ike made cooing noises as he fed his son. “Yooou are, yooou are!”

“I know the joke is that he’s your mini-me, but I do see quite a bit of Soren in him as well,” Elena mused as she finished cleaning up after dinner. 

Soren was helping her. “You do? I don’t.”

“Well, the hair and eyes are darker than Ike’s,” she continued, “And he’s much quieter as a baby than Ike was. And my goodness, his looks! I have never met such a judgmental baby before. He’s very sweet and loving, but it’s like he thinks we’re all morons.” She smiled at Soren. “That is  _ definitely _ you.”

Soren looked a little embarrassed. “I don’t think  _ everyone _ is a moron…”

Priam let out a deep sigh of satisfaction as he finished his latest bottle. “Yum.” Ike picked him up with a towel and gently burped him. 

Gawain looked to Elena. “Can we borrow Priam for the evening?” 

"Oh I would love that!" Elena beamed at the young couple. “What do you think, boys? Can we have a grandparent sleepover?”

Soren looked shocked. Priam had never not spent the night with Soren and Ike. “If... if it’s all right with Ike.” 

"Er, if it's okay with you, Soren.” Ike looked at Soren, visibly worried.

“So cute,” said Gawain, amused. Elena just kept smiling at them. 

“Sure,” said Soren cautiously. “Although now I get why Elena cried the first time Ike had a sleepover with me and Pelleas.” 

"Okay, so we'll try it but if I slip in and take him home in the middle of the night you can't get angry," Ike said. Gawain just laughed. 

Soren took Priam from Ike, stood up, and gently handed over his baby to Elena before he looked at Gawain fiercely. “I don’t care if you are the greatest warrior known to man, if he gets hurt in your care I will end you.” 

Gawain chuckled more. “Of course, of course.” 

Elena hugged Soren one-armed. "I will guard him with my life,” she reassured him.

"We know,” Ike said smoothly, mouth twitching in amusement at how his spouse had threatened his father. 

Soren simply nodded. “All right. Just some information you need to know. He usually sleeps through the night in his crib but he does love cuddles. Another thing he got from Ike. And he can only have fruits as solids now. And keep an eye on him if Ranulf comes by because last time Priam got some fur stuck up his nose and it took forever for him to sneeze it out.” 

Gawain looked at Ike like “you might want to take him home.” Ike agreed, looking to Soren, but Soren did not let him get a word in.

“And every night one or both of us reads to him. He likes the stories of the trickster spirits or the shining knights. He’s not a fan of princesses or dragons getting slain. And he still likes being swaddled and wrapped up, all skin covered, Pelleas made him feetie pajamas that make him look like a blue cat which he just loves - I can bring that and his favorite blanket and one of his plush animals over later if he won’t settle. Sometimes he just won’t, sometimes he gets very hyper and unfocused like Ike. But he loves getting his feet rubbed and getting his stomach rubbed in a circle with a little pressure - usually that’s how to calm him down, although honestly if he’s crying it’s because he’s hungry. He doesn’t really miss us, and he doesn’t cry if he gets hurt either, he’s starting to crawl so you can imagine the accidents he gets in to as he figures it out. As for words, he mostly does sound effects but he does say ‘beef,’ which is food. Oh and Pelleas has a nut allergy so please please be careful with food around him, just in case. Also Priam has no magic to speak of so if strange things start happening, it’s not his fault. We have plenty of diapers in the bag but his stool is runny so if you need more come find me, we have a stockpile. He woke up a little warm this morning so he might be getting sick, I don’t know, but if you feel like he is, bring him home so I can take care of him, that’s fine. Oh and he is not a fan of pacifiers, he will often spit them out, I’m not sure why. He is not afraid of the dark - he’s actually not afraid of anything, which is a blessing and a curse. Like I said he’s starting to crawl now but he has no sense of fear so he has no problem crawling away from sight or into places he shouldn’t. He also has excellent hearing - I woke up one night from a nightmare and he heard it and got agitated. He was fine once he saw me. Oh and Mist almost dropped him once, he found it hysterical and wants to do it again but it doesn’t matter, Mist can’t hold him without supervision. Oh! Right, he is starting to teethe, he responds well to the teething toys in the bag but also likes getting his gums rubbed. Not as much as he likes his scalp, feet and belly rubbed though. Still again he doesn’t feel much pain because I wouldn’t know he was teething except his gums are swollen. No teeth have popped through yet, the books say that’s normal though. Still keep an eye on it, let me know if he bites and you feel a tooth. And now that I think about it, teething is associated with fevers-”

Ike picked Soren up and carried him out. 

“We have to go back, I forgot to tell them about how sensitive his skin is!” 

Gawain fought a laugh. “So how much of that did you already know?” he asked his wife. 

"All of it, and I know about his skin!" she called to the hall. "First time parents." 

Gawain laughed, and so did Priam. Elena beamed and snuggled her grandbaby. 

“I know I’m forgetting something,” Soren grumbled. 

"You told her literally everything." 

Soren sighed but gave up. “He’ll be fine but I might not, apparently.” 

“We’ll miss him, buuuuut, I can help make you fine,” Ike said with a smirk. 

Soren regarded him before nodding. “Agreed.”


	13. A -2

Soren laid down in bed for the evening, feeling tired but anxious. It was annoying to him because barring family concerns (assassination was both nerve-wracking but also slow-going) he had nothing to be anxious about. Oh… family concerns…

As if to drive that point home, Pelleas burst in. Ike was brushing his teeth and didn’t seem perturbed, even though this hadn’t happened in awhile. “I’m engaged to Micaiah!” he exclaimed, looking terrified as he got into bed. He immediately wrapped around Soren for comfort.

He was very confused. “Why is that a bad thing? Do you not want this?”

“No I do! I love her so much!”

“Then why are you freaking out?”

“Because she’s making a huge mistake! What happens when she figures that out?!”

Oh, that made sense. “Then she’ll leave you. It’ll be sad but you’ll get over it eventually.”

There was a loud noise from the bathroom and Ike emerged, looking incredibly unimpressed. “No. She won’t ever think she made a mistake. She’s been with you for over eight years, and she can read your heart! Add on that she just randomly appeared one day, and if she wanted to be gone she would have left. Instead she accepted your proposal.”

“Yeah but she was wrong! I’m wimpy!”

Ike’s eyes glanced up as if praying for patience. “No. Well I mean you are wimpy, but geez.”

Pelleas buried his face in Soren’s shoulder. “And… technically there was no proposal. I was just, you know, journaling about our lives together with our two children and being King and Queen before retiring to a little cottage with a picket fence…. she said she liked the idea and would marry me.”

“Well then that’s your first goal, do an actual proposal. All the stress is gone because you know she’ll say yes!” Ike looked pretty proud of this idea.

“But what if she says  _ no? _ ” Pelleas asked in a tiny voice, hands wringing. “She should say no. But I don’t want her to say no, I don’t think I could handle it!”

“Again, that’s her prerogative,” Soren said sensibly, rubbing Pelleas’ back soothingly. 

“Ye gods you two.” Ike sat on the bed. “Okay first of all, while you’re not my type, you do have plenty of things going for you and you’re obviously her type and you’re not giving her enough credit here. This goes for both of you - just because you don’t like yourself doesn’t mean other people don’t like you!”

“Aw Ike,” said Pelleas with a tiny wibble. Soren held back a scoff. “Thanks. You’re a good friend and a good brother.”

“So it’s settled!” Ike had his “I’m on a Mission” look. “You are going to have a super sweet and romantic proposal.”

“Meep,” said Pelleas.

“You have no choice, but we’ll help you.”

Soren snorted his amusement, but Ike wasn’t wrong. Just because this was excessive didn’t mean he wasn’t going to help. Pelleas needed all the help he could get.

“Here’s your homework,” Ike continued, “Go back to your own suite, look in the mirror and say ‘I’m good enough, I'm smart enough, and people like me!’ three times.”

Pelleas blushed at the very idea. Soren had a couple of jokes he wanted to make (“that takes ‘lying to yourself’ to a whole new level”) but he could read the atmosphere. Ike might consign him to the couch if he did.

“Okay,” Pelleas squeaked, slinking out.

“He’s not going to live long enough to retire,” Soren mused, saddened at the thought.

“If anyone can figure out how to break a spirit charmer pact, it’s you,” Ike said gently. “Also, I’m glad this happened for us too. Clearly I’ve been remiss, so I’m going to spend the night convincing you that I like and love you.”

Soren wasn’t so tired anymore.

* * *

“All right, so I stole one of Daein’s royal rings, and also - her!” 

Soren was just observing as Pelleas and Ike hashed out the proposal plan. Pelleas did indeed have a ring, and… the ‘her’ was a songbird?

“That ring is crazy fancy but whatever,” said Ike. “You’d think a country that prides itself on its silent strength and practicality wouldn’t have such gaudy jewelry. What’s with the bird?”

“This is Yune, Micaiah’s pet,” he explained, holding up the tiny orange bird. It pecked his hand. “Ow! I mean, Micaiah’s trusted companion.” It chirped happily. “I think it would be special to include her.”

Soren’s eye twitched.

He tried really,  _ really _ hard to not hate Micaiah for the ridiculous list of powers she had associated with her Brand. Precognition, reading minds and hearts, taking other’s wounds onto herself… and apparently having a surprisingly self-aware bird. Soren just had an annoying mother. And he was half! Who knew how much or little laguz blood Micaiah actually had! Clearly her ancestor had been powerful.

While he actively worked to not resent her (he owed Pelleas that much if nothing else, but honestly she was a nice person), he had written his grandfather a letter calling him a slacker.

“I would pet her, but I don’t want to accidentally break anything,” Ike admitted. “But sure, we can include her. Somehow. Unless she’d eat the ring?”

Yune the bird flew over and landed on Ike’s shoulder before pecking him in the ear.

“Okay geez, I’ll take that as a no. It’s like she understands what we’re saying.” The bird pecked him again. “Ohhh kaaaaay maybe she actually does?” The bird chirped. “Wow.”

“It’s very exciting!” Pelleas agreed. “And a little creepy, depending.”

Ike nodded. “All right, here’s the plan. So first, we want to set up a romantic picnic in the park. I think Yune here can have a letter on her that we can send to Micaiah to lead her to the right place.”

Pelleas’ eyes lit up. “Can I write a poem?” Aw, he’s getting into it. So cute.

“Probably not a good idea,” Ike admitted. 

“Oh man. But I have a good one!  _ Roses are red, my hair is blue-” _

“So! So once she gets to the secluded picnic spot, you’ll be there and we’ll release the butterflies.” Ike looked to Soren. “How do I get five hundred butterflies?”

“No,” said Soren, feeling like the only adult in the room even though he was the youngest. Both Ike and Pelleas pouted at him. “It’s winter. An outdoor picnic and butterflies is just not plausible.”

“Oh.” Ike looked deeply disappointed. So did Pelleas. Soren was just relieved at knowing he had dodged a particularly big arrow by having Ike propose in the moment instead of planned out. It was Elena’s fault he was a hopeless romantic. “So maybe… maybe indoors. Like a nice tavern with everyone you know present, and maybe like… some entertainers? There’s a circus right?” Pelleas went incredibly pale. “I know you’re afraid of clowns, but maybe this once you can power through.”

“Or how about their bedroom with just them,” Soren interjected. “No clowns involved anywhere ever.” Pelleas wasn’t the only one afraid of clowns.

Ike didn’t look convinced. “I guess… ”

Yune chirped very enthusiastically, but since there were no bird-whisperers here she might as well have not bothered. 

Soren took over, because at the rate this was going Pelleas would be proposing with a parade and mariachi band. “Something cozy and simple, with just the two of you,” Soren said to his brother. “If she wants a party you can have one afterwards, once you’ve both agreed to the engagement.”

“I guess you could have candles and flowers and stuff,” Ike said, dejected. “Even though my idea is way better, his is more practical.”

“Ike, if you had proposed to me with  _ any _ of the pomp and circumstance you’re talking about, the answer would have been a giant ‘no,’” Soren assured him. 

He gasped in surprise. “The butterflies are brilliant and you know it!”

“Yes, nothing says ‘celebration’ like opening up a cupboard of frozen insects,” Soren drawled. 

“Okay, only during the summer.”

“Not at all.” 

Pelleas nodded. “Okay. I can… I can do that! Um. But. … willyouhelpmeplease?”

“Yes!” said Ike as Soren said, “With what?”

“I’m just… really nervous. See, I’m already sweating just thinking about it.” He presented damp sleeves. “Maybe um, maybe you could like, help me set up and then hide in the other room as moral support?”

“Geez Pelleas, you’re like a baby bird,” Ike said with some sympathy. Yune pecked him in the ear. “Ow! I uh meant it as a compliment!”

“Or we could make it a double date,” Soren mused. “She could sense us there anyway. And then Ike and I can retire for the evening and when we leave you can ask her.”

Pelleas lit up at Soren’s suggestion. “Yes! Let’s do that!”

* * *

The four of them sat down for a private dinner that evening, surrounded by flowers and candles. Soren was equal parts amused and inwardly face-palming over how Ike (and he  _ knew _ it was Ike) had gotten them all so quickly. Everyone was dressed nicely but comfortably. Ike and Soren were perfectly relaxed, Micaiah was visibly amused, and Pelleas was staring a hole into his dinner. 

“My brother wanted me to tell you he’s still sorry,” Micaiah told Ike.

“He’s apologized at least 200 times in the past 7 years,” Ike said, bemused. “He can get over it already. I sure am.”

“So I’ve told him many, many times.”

“Speaking of groveling brothers - Pelleas, a word?” Soren stood up. Pelleas jumped in shock before also standing. They went to the bedroom and Soren closed the door. “Get yourself together, would you?! Dinner is almost over and you haven’t said a word!”

“Sure I did!”

“In your head doesn’t count!”

“Dang it… Well technically it does since-“

Soren took his brother by the shoulder. “You are Crown Prince of Daein, Son of Ashnard and Heir of Dragons,” he said firmly. “You  _ can _ and you  _ will _ ask your fiancé to marry you out loud.”

Pelleas was shivering, but he nodded. “Yes! I can do this! Even if she’s way too good for me in every way!”

“I managed to keep Ike around for this long and I’m way more high-maintenance than you are,” Soren encouraged him. 

“Yes but Ike is an idiot and Micaiah isn’t. Still, you’re right.  _ I can do this! _ ” He marched out of the bedroom and walked up to Micaiah. “Roses are red,”

Oh no.

“My hair is blue,”

Soren grimaced, as did Ike.

“You make my heart sing, because I love you!” he finished. His face was red and he once again wasn’t looking at her.

“Aww,” said the other three people.

He went to fish out the ring before he gasped. “Oh, right! Yune!!”

On cue, the bird flew in and landed on the table. The proportion of ring to bird meant that the poor thing was exhausted from the short flight. 

“Awww,” said Micaiah again, petting her tiny companion. 

“Will you please marry me pretty please?” Pelleas blurted.

Thankfully Micaiah seemed to find her new fiancée’s cowardice to be endearing, as she stood up and hugged him tightly. “Of course I will, silly.” Proof there was someone out there for everyone. Ike and Soren left them to their private celebration.

“Little Pelli is growing up,” Ike said wistfully as he closed the door.

“It’s about time," Soren agreed, not not proud.

(To no one’s surprise, Almedha decided she also hated Micaiah and she was not good enough for her son. It was nice for some of the pressure to be off Ike, at least.)


	14. A -1.75

Ike hefted Ragnell, now familiar with its weight. The sword once had a golden sheen, but they had done some minor cosmetic work to make it silver so it didn’t appear so distinct. As far as anyone knew, it was just a regular, albeit fancy, custom-made sword. As a member of the Four Riders, it was expected for Ike to have something better than the average person. It was  _ not _ expected for him to have a holy sword.

Truth be told, Ike actually liked being a member of the Four, a fact that would have surprised him all those years ago.

It was still a wonderful novelty that he was, almost, in the same league as his father. Of course since Gawain was still the leader of the Four, Ike was his subordinate, but he didn’t mind that. The best part was that they trained so frequently that he was confident that someday soon he would surpass him. Granted, his father probably found his confidence amusing, but Ike liked to think he was making progress. He was also pretty sure he could beat Ashnard in a straight-up duel, but actually getting into one would be difficult. 

As the newest member, Ike also got the most challenges to his position. Those were actually a lot of fun, most of the time. His introduction to the knights colloquially referred to as “the brothers” had been Boyd challenging him and Ike beating him like a whiny brat. Oscar had fretted and Rolf had laughed. Somehow after that Boyd and Rolf both ended up dating Mist, so Ike kind of wished he’d beaten him harder. Oh, and Ike had to fight Petrine a lot too, so he always kept aloe on him at all times.

Bryce and the Black Knight occasionally got some challenges as well, but only the most foolhardy would challenge Gawain… which meant the only person who ever actually did was the Black Knight. Whoever he was under the mask, he definitely felt like he had something to prove. Ike was fairly certain that his dad knew who he was, though, and he didn’t seem too worried, so Ike wasn’t too worried. 

Even more fun than the challenges to him though, were the challenges to Soren. Although he wasn’t Soren’s bodyguard, he was Soren’s Champion, and sometimes he was a little too… loose in his interpretation of what he felt slighted his Prince’s honor. Soren definitely had a sadistic streak in him, because watching Ike beat up someone on his behalf really turned him on.

Case in point...

“What is my crime?” asked this particularly snooty nobleman. He clearly didn’t think Ike was serious because he wasn’t even inquiring as to a weapon.

“You refused to make eye contact with my liege,” Ike explained, facing him. Soren stood off to the side, watching with a sultry look. “And  _ only _ him. So either you are so biased by his heritage you can’t bear to look at him, or so overcome by his gorgeousness you dare not risk it.” Soren blushed even as the nobleman went pale. “As his Champion I must defend his honor, and as his husband I must defend him from perverts.”

“I - it - I did make eye contact!” the man protested as he grabbed a rapier. “You - this is-”

Ike strode forward and punched the man in the face. That was good enough for this guy. He saved death for the bigger offenses, like the one who had called Soren a half-breed, or the one who slapped his ass. Thankfully no one had tried to assassinate him under Ike’s watch. While technically that was bodyguard jurisdiction, Ike would not take that lying down. 

He glanced up to Soren, who was giving him pure bedroom eyes. Ike returned them in response. 

Yes, it was good to be a member of the Four.

A messenger came out and greeted Soren with a bow before saying something to him. Soren looked to Ike and mouthed “sorry” before following.

Crud. It wasn’t so good to be the spouse of a prince, though.


	15. A -1.25

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Soren tries to be angsty, but Ike isn't having it.

Soren arrived for lunch with his father and son. Ashnard greeted him pleasantly and downright cooed over Priam, which always warmed Soren’s heart to see. He then sat with his grandson on his lap, bouncing him. “Your mother made cookies and tea.”

“That is surprising. She hasn’t spoken to me much since the birth. It’s been a very quiet two years.” Soren drank his tea with a smirk.

“She dislikes being wrong, and she predicted your death. I’m sure she resents not being able to be both ‘mourning mother’ and ‘doting grandmother.’”

Soren snorted. “Well Pelleas keeps almost dying of blushing when Micaiah engages in public displays of affection, so she may still get her wish.”

Ashnard chuckled as he ate a cookie, offering a piece to a very eager Priam. “So, it’s been awhile. If I wanted to conquer Crimea, how would I go about it?”

It had been awhile since they last did their mental exercises. Soren actually found it soothing to do them, so he pondered. “Well, not much has changed except they’re more wary of us now,” he said in thought as he ate a cookie. He didn’t mention that it was his fault they were, since he’d told Elincia about Ashnard’s plans for possible conquest. “So you would have to invade and conquer Melior quickly. But the rest of the idea still stands the same - you need to kill their king and highest general first. Once that is done, the rest is easy.”

“Agreed.” Ashnard always looked so proud of him, which made Soren feel annoyingly good. It shouldn’t affect him at all - he should be beyond this. He was planning to kill the man! But here he was, still wanting his approval. “How would you think Begnion would factor into that?”

“They would stay out of it unless provoked,” Soren mused. “Your biggest threat would be Gallia. Ramon and Caineghis have a treaty. Now if they would honor it, I’m not sure.”

“I blame you for that.”

“It was eight years ago. Get over it.”

Ashnard chuckled. “True enough. We got a treaty too, after all. Oh, by the way, you owe Skrimir a kiss.”

Soren gaped at him. “You did _not_ make that a contingency.”

He laughed. “No, I didn’t. The look on your face was completely worth it, though.” 

“Haha.” Soren grabbed Priam before he could shove more cookies in his mouth. “So, how about a chess game?”

“Normally I would say yes, but I don’t think Priam has nearly enough patience for one.” He was not wrong, as Priam was already crawling all over Soren. 

“We could play checkers instead,” Soren joked as he tried to wrangle his son. Eventually he concluded he could explore, so he put him down and let him toddle around. “This child has way too much energy.” 

“The sign of a future warrior,” Ashnard said. “The best way to channel that energy is to teach the discipline that fighting requires.”

“I don’t have much of a choice; between you, Ike and Gawain, my son is destined to use a sword,” Soren replied carefully, 

"You put too much faith in them," Ashnard said breezily. "You need to guard yourself better."

Soren felt the prickles of nerves in his stomach. "Well, the one is my husband."

"It's always wisest to leave a... a gap, for a lack of a better word. Space between you and other people. Be personable, but not completely open. It makes anything that happens in the future easier, no matter what it is."

"What do you mean?" he had to ask.

"Plenty of things. Should they leave Daein for other opportunities. It's not like this country is enjoyable. And Gawain in particular fancies himself a mercenary, so it's shocking he's been here for so long... and so if he takes a contract on your life you want to be able to defend yourself, rather than weep with sentimentality as he beheads you. Of course there is always the chance that your titles or your pleasant personality will make your husband want to leave you - let's be honest, we're both surprised it's lasted this long. And, of course, there is the matter of the fact that you will naturally outlive all of them because of your curse. The more emotional distance you put between you and everyone, the less you can be affected by anything they do or don't do. Like I've told you before, 'love' is always a source of weakness."

_None of that is true,_ he told himself firmly. 

_Well... The lifespan thing is definitely true. And it's not like I'm a nice person, so that's true too. And... and Ike does hate being royalty, he's made that perfectly clear. And... and surely Gawain isn't an assassin! He wouldn't... he is planning to assassinate my father. Who says he can't be so easily convinced to kill me too? Rip the tree out by the root and make sure all the branches are dead..._

_No, because that would involve killing Priam. He would never hurt Priam._

_Yes, but Priam is still moldable. I'm not._

_He would have to kill Pelleas. I could never let that happen._

"Your mind is going a mile a minute," Ashnard observed, sipping his tea. "It's not like I said anything particularly shocking."

"I'd forgotten that Gawain was a mercenary," Soren admitted. 

"He even has his own company. Like I said, it's surprising he's been here as long as he has." He waved the conversation away with a hand. "It doesn't matter. Just remember my warnings and you'll be fine. Everyone has the potential to be a weakness if you allow them to."

Soren nodded in his agreement, feeling sick. Then he noticed that Priam was whole-heartedly eating his hair and his focus changed quickly. "No thank you," he said firmly, pulling his hair free. He was used to it at this point, and completely immune to Priam's puppy dog eyes of sorrow. 

His appetite was dead now, so he quickly dismissed himself, mumbling some excuse - he wasn't sure what he even said. He picked up Priam and fled.

_I need to ignore him!_ he sternly told himself. _He wants to hurt my son, and he needs to die for it! Anything he has to say is not worth listening to!_

_But he's not wrong._

And that was the crux of the issue, wasn't it. Nothing changed the fact that he was right. 

* * *

Soren was usually inscrutable, which was how he preferred it. The exceptions were Pelleas - who could literally sense his emotions, poor sod - and Ike, and Elena was starting to be able to do it, too. But in this instance, it took Ike less than an hour to tell something was off. 

"You're really guarded today," he said over dinner. Priam was down for a nap so it was just the two of them, which was always nice. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing."

Ike looked at Soren thoughtfully. "You know I'm going to have to guess until I get it right if you won't tell me."

"Nothing is wrong!" he said sternly.

"Sure there is. You're treating me like you treat everyone else. Your muscles are tense and you have that cute little crinkle between your eyes. Did someone spill water on one of your manuscripts again?"

"No." He was helpless and hopeless. He was already fighting a smile. 

"Did Pelleas use up all the cocoa?"

"He knows better."

"Hmm... did those two assholes show up to try to make treaties and outdo each other again?"

"No, Tibarn and Naesala are still safely across the continent." That had been a LONG week.

"Did someone forget to shovel the snow out of your favorite courtyard?"

"No, it was perfectly clear. At least for the hour I was there. By now I'm sure it's filled again."

"Did Priam pee when you were changing his diaper?"

"Ha, no. Thank the Goddess."

"Oh, the obvious one. Did someone comment on your eating habits?"

"No, no one had to die today."

Ike softened his look. "Did one or both of your parents give you an unasked-for lecture?"

He sighed and gave in. "Yes."

"How can I fix it?" he asked gently. 

Soren shook his head. "I'll get over it."

He nodded slowly. "I love you."

Soren flushed and looked away. Why was he so weak? He should accept this and then use it to control this powerful man. Instead, he was blushing and resisting the urge to throw himself in his arms. His father was right -

He jumped when he was suddenly wrapped in those muscular arms he was thinking about. "That's your cue to say it back," he said with a soft teasing lilt to his voice. 

There was a block in his brain, he just couldn't say those words. His father's admonitions were ringing in his ears. He couldn't admit anything. It would be opening himself up more than he should.

"Nope. Look at me." Ike cupped his chin and made him look at his eyes. "Quit thinking so much. Can I kiss you?"

"Why?" he asked in a whisper. 

"Because I love you and want to kiss you. I enjoy it. And you enjoy it too. I'm guessing your dad gave you the 'this is why he's not invited to parties' talk about strength versus weakness. Do I need to get my mom in here to give the counter argument that love is the greatest strength in the universe?"

Finally Soren had to chuckle. "Ye gods no. One lecture a day, thank you."

Ike sat and pulled Soren onto his lap, resting his chin on top of his head. “I know this won’t mean much to you because I can’t prove it and that’s what you need, proof... but, in sixty years, when I’m old and gray, I plan on reminding you of this moment. You’re stuck with me, Soren Kurthnaga Daein-Greil. If not for the rest of your life, then for the rest of mine.”

Soren curled up to make himself as small as possible. His mother had been tight-lipped about sharing his lifeforce. He really needed to start pressuring her more.

But for the moment, he would just bask.


	16. A -1.25

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warning for on-screen child abuse (well Soren is an adult, but still offspring) of a minor variety. Check the end notes if you need to and stay safe :)

With the peace offering that was the cookies, Soren brought Priam to see Almedha. She smiled at him and then just absolutely smothered little Priam, making the boy laugh at her intense hugs and kisses.

"So, I wanted to ask you some questions," he said as she played with the toddler, giving him tickles. "Your brother mentioned that dragons can share some of their lifespans."

She sharply looked up at him, all mirth and good feelings forgotten. Priam looked confused at the end of the tickles. "No."

"I wasn't going to ask _you_ to do it," he retorted. 

She shook her head. "There is a way. It would kill you."

Soren scoffed at her. "Does _everything_ have to be dramatic with you?"

"I'm serious!"

"That's what you said about me with Priam!"

"And your pregnancy was a miserable time and you did almost die in the birth!"

He took a sharp breath, trying to control his emotions. "It's your dragonstone and the lullaby. Is that it?"

Suddenly Almedha looked hurt. "Is that what you think? That I would teach you something that would kill you? I would never!"

"But you said it was important."

"Yes, because it's passed down by our family!"

_ Are you fucking kidding me?! _ is what he thought. But Priam looking between them made him hold his tongue. "So you know how to do it?" he asked as calmly as possible.

"Yes, of course I do. But I will not ever teach it to you. I will _not_ let you hurt yourself."

"Fine. Then this is a waste of time.” He stood up.

She did too. “Don’t you dare try to make me feel badly. I have and always will refuse to humor your masochistic tendencies!”

“This isn’t about  _ me!”  _ Soren snapped back at her, “But I get you don’t understand someone having an unselfish thought!”

He expected and accepted her slap across the face. When she got piqued like this, she got smacky. He wasn’t cowed, and hadn’t been for many years now. “I gave up  _ everything  _ for you,” she hissed at him. " _I love you."_

Soren just picked up Priam. “I'll be here when you change your mind and want to talk." He ignored her protests and walked out. Priam was visibly baffled but also concerned, with a look that was just so  _ Ike _ it made Soren feel better by default even if he did feel guilty as his baby rubbed his stinging cheek. Bryce was waiting for him, eyes politely averted, so he handed over Priam with an order to put him down for a nap.

He was deep in thought as he walked from her room to his own, his mind on the logistics of a long-lasting invisibility spell so he could steal her dragon stone without having to talk to her again. He had to act under the assumption she was lying, because if he had to start from scratch...? He couldn't even fathom. He needed this hope.

But he was so _angry_. Why did everything have to be a chore with her? Why could she not just listen for once? He-

There was a quiet but quick set of footsteps from behind him. He continued to walk, but his ears were trained on the noise. There was something about the steps... the person was trying to be unheard. He moved as subtly as possible to ready his tome. A simple Wind book, but it would be more than enough, if he was right... 

A knife flew out of the shadows, but he dodged it easily. He leaned into the move to keep going, avoiding his assailant's attempt at following up with a close-up stab. He activated the winds, which sliced cleanly through the man's black leather armor. Nondescript but also making no attempts to hide being an assassin. Interesting. 

He adjusted the angle of his next spell to not cut, but instead toss the man back and into the wall. He expected the second knife throw and dodged it just as easily as he had the first. Another quick twist of his hand had the wind cut the man's head off. 

Yes, interesting. 

On the plus side, it was always nice to prove that he didn't need a bodyguard, even if no one would ever humor him. But why would someone try to kill him, and so brazenly? He explored the blood-drenched corpse and found a letter.

" _ The head of the lesser prince of Daein for 20,000 gold. Do not fail the Goddess. _ ”

Very, very interesting. The clues pointed to this being an assassination contract from Begnion - the overt reference to the Goddess for one, plus the point to call him "lesser;" everyone in Begnion loved to be as condescending as possible. But why did Begnion want him dead? Why would it be so sloppy? And that was an offensively low sum. 

Something was suspicious about all of this. 

He pocketed the letter. And just in time too, because Ike had been trying to find him and he drew his sword upon seeing Soren standing over a dead body. "What the hell happened?"

"Poor assasination attempt," he explained. "Don't worry, I wasn't even hurt." Despite this, Ike looked him over worriedly. "I barely even needed to move.”

Ike began to look at the body too, looking for any clues. Soren did not mention the clue he already had. Let it be a mystery, for now. He would need more information to figure it out.

And he _would_ figure it out.

* * *

Soren regarded his chalkboard thoughtfully.

_ Begnion  _ _Assassination_

_ \- real _

_ Gay - last empress got rid of those laws, might still be some bad feelings _

_ Branded (affront to the Goddess) _

_ Gay Branded _

_ Revenge for Lekain (Numida was a toady) (but so many years later?) _

_ All of the above _

_ they're Begnion, do they need a reason? _

_ \- framed _

_ Someone wants Daein to go to war with Begnion. _

  
  


It was staring him right in the face. In fact it was almost juvenile in its simplicity. The most likely scenario was that his father had hired someone to kill him, or at least make the attempt, as a way to justify a war with Begnion. It made sense - he seemed almost bored with the idea of just fighting Crimea, and he had asked if Begnion would join the war. Soren had been honest. They wouldn't. ... Unless provoked. 

It was genius, though. Begnion’s Senate was corrupt as hell and certainly had reasons to want him dead (even if the reasons were stupid), so they were the perfect fall-guys. And Ashnard embarking on a rampage of revenge for the death of his son was marginally sympathetic. While he could just crush Crimea, he would need to be on the moral high-ground for an invasion of Begnion to cause division in their ranks. 

"I would be proud if _I hadn't almost gotten stabbed_ ," Soren muttered. "Well… no, he probably wasn't expecting me to actually get stabbed. Not that he would have cried if I had gotten killed. Maybe he's proud that I lived?"

"I doubt it."

Soren jumped. Ike was behind him, skimming the board. His eyes were dark and he was scowling heavily. "When were you going to tell _me_ you knew who sent the assassin?"

"When I figured it out," Soren said, although he hadn't actually been planning on telling him at all. It’s not like that knowledge helped or made any difference. "I don't want to spark something international. And I'm just assuming it's Begnion. As you can see," he gestured to the board, "I'm only guessing. Unfortunately my father has a reputation of being really interested in killing things, so frankly it could be anyone.”

"You don't trust me," Ike retorted.

"I do!" Soren argued, feeling panicked. Ike looked genuinely angry, and Soren had technically lied to him… Oh Goddess, was this it? Was Ike finally fed up with everything and going to leave him? He should, he really should, but -

All of a sudden, Ike lightened. "You make it impossible to be mad at you," he murmured, walking forward and hugging Soren tightly. "I know that look. That's the 'oh Goddess he's going to leave me!' look. I'm not going to leave you ever, no matter how mad I get. Unlike your parents, I can control my emotions when I get mad. I just don't believe you when you say you were going to tell me, because you like to hide problems." He sighed, resting his chin on Soren's head. "I hate that. But I had a talk with my dad. Because Bryce was watching over Pelleas, it left you undefended. So..."

"Oh no."

"Oh yes. I am now officially your bodyguard."

Soren deeply sighed. "You are my husband. You should not be my bodyguard."

"Eh, I already was unofficially. And let's be honest, no one is more dedicated to keeping you alive, and I'm in the perfect position since I want to be around you anyway." He kissed Soren's forehead. "It's not really a job to me."

"I don't need a bodyguard."

"While you proved that just fine this afternoon... The thought of you being unprotected... Nope. I can't do it."

"I could order you to go away," he said dryly.

"Nope, because I'm under my dad's orders."

"I could order your dad to order you to go away."

"Yeah... but that would hurt my feelings. And I'd just try to turn whatever assignment I did get into somehow also protecting you." He paused. "You know how I usually let you get your way because you're way more stubborn than I am? This is going to be the one exception."

Soren sighed again. "Fiiine."

Ike held him a little tighter. "Don't sound so thrilled! So. This whole 'assassination' thing. You think it's either really Begnion or a frame up?"

"There was a letter on the body, talking about the Goddess. That usually means Begnion. But again, it feels really obvious. I am more inclined to believe that someone wanted me to identify my attacker as from there, so my father would go to war with them. Now, was it my father? Maybe. But there certainly could be a number of people who might want that war."

"And so you hid the evidence." Ike nodded as he thought about it. "You are a genius. Anyone else would have just told everyone who they thought was responsible."

"I'm cautious and paranoid," Soren corrected. Then he, cautious and paranoid, realized something. “You actually didn’t get that promotion.”

It was Ike’s turn to sigh deeply. “What gave it away?”

“Bryce was with Priam, not Pelleas.” Soren looked at him smugly. 

“Dang it, almost had you,” Ike muttered.

“So I made a lie of omission, and you just straight up lied. Care to say we’re even?” He smirked.

Ike sighs again, totally dejected. “Fiiine. You really want to just… move on and ignore this, though?”

“That’s exactly what we’re going to do.” Soren had an errant thought. “You know the sad part is that if it was my father, it’s really just tit-for-tat, considering _I’m_ trying to kill _him_.”

“Your family is weird,” Ike said with affection. “Okay, we’ll do this your way. But I’m still going to guard you. Just not officially.”

“Maybe someday your father will humor you. Considering he hasn’t for the last, what, eight years, I doubt it.” Soren got comfortable in those beefy arms he so loved. "Do you ever get the feeling that our lives would be so much easier if I'd been abandoned at birth?"

"Oh, only all the time. But knowing you, you'd still be somehow getting into trouble."

It was hard to argue with that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soren snarks off at Almedha one too many times and she smacks him. He's undaunted and hints it's happens before. Then he leaves, so it doesn't escalate.


	17. A-1

Ike liked being a member of the Four for a number of reasons. But the best part was that it meant he was on the short list of being Soren’s official bodyguard.

Gawain was responsible for the safety of the entire royal family as a whole, while the Black Knight was also there for the King and Queen, and Bryce was the princes’ personal bodyguard. Ike was no one’s, and used as more of a free agent. He had begged and pleaded for years to be Soren’s, because not only was he the obvious choice, but because he wanted to be his family’s protector in all ways, and because he wanted to make sure that he would never be ordered away from him, but mostly because it was annoying having Bryce shadowing his husband. It would have been worse having the Black Knight because Bryce was basically the human equivalent of white bread, but it made Ike feel undermined. Unfortunately, because his dad felt he was biased (which, well, duh), Ike wasn’t allowed to move up. Yet. He’d get there.

He got there a little sooner than expected. 

* * *

The Black Knight had vanished. Completely. He was just gone, out of Daein, and no one knew where he went. Granted he absolutely could have still been among them and just out of his armor, but for all intents and purposes there was a vacuum now. Ike was surprised to learn that this meant there would be an actual tournament with people vying for the position, and that he didn’t have to do anything other than sit with Soren and try to distract Priam because they both had to attend. There was feasting and fighting and contests of strength, and Ike may have been interested in involving himself if his priorities weren’t on his husband, son, and finding out who would be his new “coworker.” It was definitely a relief that the Black Knight was gone, though.

Lots of people, both talented and not, bowed to the royal family before facing each other in duels that, per the King, could be lethal if they felt like it, he didn’t care. Ike was then informed by Soren that Ike’s sole job during all this was to make sure Priam didn’t see anyone die. Ashnard called him a pansy, but neither Soren nor Ike relented on that one. Thankfully Priam was too young to understand, and he was super easy to distract. When one fight got particularly violent, Ike wrapped his bandana around Priam’s eyes. It had taken him ten minutes to get it off because of how hard he was laughing. 

In the end, the remaining contestants were the eldest of “the brothers,” Oscar; the wyvern rider, Haar, who did not look particularly enthused to be there (Ike could see Jill in the stands somehow browbeating him from a distance); and Titania. Ike knew from machinations that Titania needed to win in order to replace Bryce, but Ike was honestly not sure who would win. All three of these people usually fought on some beast, and such things were prohibited for the tournament, so it really was anyone’s fight. 

Ike learned that day that he should challenge Pelleas to poker, because he was visibly nervous. To an outside observer, it made no sense. Thankfully Micaiah was holding his hand. Ike sometimes made a point to thank her for sticking around for him. 

If Soren was nervous, he hid it far better. Ike liked to think he wasn’t showing any fear either. Priam definitely was, but it was forgivable for him considering his major crush on Titania. Granted Ranulf also had a major crush on Titania and he was much better at hiding any nerves. Ike’s mom and dad were pretty calm.

Ashnard looked interested for the first time, likely because these were the finals. Almedha was obviously bored. Ike didn’t care about either of them.

The fights were intense, but also nonlethal, so that was a major bonus. Haar and Oscar fought first, followed by Haar versus Titania. The difference in fighters was obvious; Oscar was talented but outmatched, and Haar was apathetic versus Titania’s strong and obvious determination. 

So strong, in fact, that her victory did not end with defeating Haar. She took a deep breath, took off her glove, threw it to the ground, and challenged Bryce to a duel.

* * *

The trouble with Priam was that he had too much energy. So, it was in the best interests of everyone to let him run around and burn that off… except then the adult observing had to be singularly focused lest he vanish, so it was easier to put him on your shoulders and carry him that way. Soren proposed getting a leash to compromise, and Ike wasn’t totally opposed.

Priam ran back and forth but somehow also ahead as Ike took him to find some food. “Save Aunt Tyanna!” he exclaimed. Ike was less focusing on what he was saying and more focusing on being ready to sprint if he ventured off. There was a break as the contestants healed up for a bit and got lunch. “Oh! Me be champ’on like you’re Papa’s champ’on!”

Ike grinned. “Well it would be about the same, since Papa and Aunt Titania don’t need anyone to fight for them,” he admitted.

His son looked at him accusingly. “But you do it all da time!”

“I do. It’s fun. But the difference is Aunt Titania is a knight, which means she’s the one fighting for herself and other people. When you’re older you can be her squire… buuuuuut I figured you would be mine…”. He wasn’t guilt-tripping at all, of course not!

“Oh no.” He frowned. “Well me love botha ya, but Aunt Tyanna’s really pretty.”

_It would be Titania’s luck that of the three Greil men, the two who had crushes on her are not the one she wanted,_ Ike mused to himself, although he had grown out of his own crush on her. It was a sisterly admiration now, even if it was weird to think his adopted brother was dating his adopted sister. He could admit she was attractive if your tastes swung that way, but truly he had eyes only for Soren.

“Me be botha yours?”

“Nope.” Ike ruffled his hair “But you have plenty of time to decide. And don’t worry about your aunt. She’s tough. Mr. Haar is tough too and she beat him.”

“Me like his dragon,” said Priam happily.

“Wyvern,” Ike corrected. “Grandmama is a dragon. It’s different.”

Priam scowled. “Why doesn’ Grandmama like me?”

“Aww baby.” Poor guy! “She does love you. That’s why you get so many gifts from her, and I see her looking at you all the time. But she doesn’t like me or your papa, and we won’t let you be alone with her.”

“Why not? Me get alone with Grandma all the time.”

Ike took a second to think of how to frame it. “Well, because we want to keep you super safe, and Grandpapa and Grandmama are not good for that. That’s why you can see Grandpapa only with Papa or me there too.” Ike wished it was _never_ , but Soren insisted and Ashnard did seem to like Priam. Thankfully right now he was more ‘doting grandfather’ and less ‘how can I break this future warrior into being loyal to me;’ both Soren and Ike agreed that the moment either of them felt that was starting to happen, there would be no more Grandpapa time. “Grandmama could do that too, but like I said, she’s mad at your papa and me so she won’t do it. But she adores you, just like everyone else.”

“Hmmm.” Priam looked thoughtful. “She’s stub’rn like Papa then.”

“Exactly. And you.”

Priam gave him an affronted look. “‘M not!”

Ike had to tickle him for that. Unfortunately, then he fled, forcing Ike to chase him.

  
  


* * *

Soren debated to himself on what he was going to do here. No one could know or assume Soren had a preference, that he had an investment in Titania ousting Bryce. And then something else he hadn’t considered; would Haar have to fight him too, or would he simply retire if he did lose to Titania? 

Or… could he…

Bryce had been a member of the Four for literally his entire life. He’d been the leader before being ousted in that role by Gawain. He was exceptionally loyal to Ashnard… but perhaps only as a reflection of Daein and the Royal Family. After all, he’d been Soren and Pelleas’ bodyguard for the past twenty-five years, not Ashnard’s. 

He would never ask him to participate in the coup. But could he risk asking him to retire? Or would that tip his hand? 

He decided to risk it, because the man, while not exactly warm, but still loyal and had been. He should not die because of this. It was times like this where Soren wished he was better at reading people. _I should outsource to Pelleas, he’s better at this kind of thing…_

Soren approached Bryce, who was practicing with his lance with Tauroneo. Soren was pleasantly surprised that the two were still friends even though Tauroneo had been retired since Petrine had defeated him years ago. Then he marveled to himself that he cared. _Thanks, Ike. My caring about other people is all your fault._ “Hello, Sir Bryce, Sir Tauroneo.”

“Highness,” the two men said together. 

“Are you planning on joining Sir Tauroneo in retirement?” Soren asked Bryce, glad to have that excuse to inquire. 

Bryce scoffed even as he continued to make motions as if parrying an invisible enemy. “He should,” Tauroneo said with amusement, “It’s quite a nice life. My wife is now talking to me again.”

“I don’t have one of those,” Bryce replied, “And as a proud Daeinite, it is against my nature to ever retire. If I’m defeated here, then so be it, but I do not intend on giving anyone that chance.”

“So you say, but there really is no shame in it,” Soren argued. “Titania and Haar would make good Riders. And you would finally be done listening to my family’s inane and-or insane ramblings. If I could retire from that, I would.”

“My life would not be complete without your parents’ derisions and your brother’s pep talks,” Bryce said dryly.

“Oh, you still get those in retirement,” Tauroneo said with a laugh. “Pelleas is fond of making care packages. ‘You can do anything you set your mind to!’ Thanks, Pelleas. Right now, I set my mind to sleeping in.”

“His Kingship is going to be so wholesome. Rainbows and pegacorns for everyone!” Soren chuckled at the idea. 

“With a healthy dose of you ripping them to shreds both verbally and magically,” Tauroneo said fondly. “Just like it’s always been.”

Bryce stopped his intricate moves, looking at Soren thoughtfully. “Planning the succession already?”

“Just thinking ahead,” Soren said calmly, although he felt his heart begin to race as his anxiety picked up. This conversation was now full of traps and pitfalls. “It’s really a miracle my father hasn’t gotten himself killed marching into battle against some undefeatable foe. Or angered my mother so much she just ate him.”

“Same thing,” Tauroneo said with a soft smile. 

Bryce was not thrown off the scent, that was obvious. “His Majesty is the finest warrior in the land,” he said carefully. “It’s an honor to serve under him, as it is to serve the entire Royal Family.”

“You can be honest, I have no illusions that my father is some magnanimous, sane ruler,” Soren replied dryly. “Not that we don’t appreciate your service after all these years, but… you deserve to not be berated every time you open your mouth.”

To Soren’s surprise, Bryce actually smiled. “Oh, you misunderstand. I don’t stay around for him to annoy me… I stay around so I can annoy _him._ He can’t get rid of me that easily, although he certainly wishes he could. But by his own standards I am strong enough to be a member of the Four and thus so I am. I find it fun.”

Soren blinked in surprise. “So. So you’re saying… you’ve been here for years, tolerated his verbal abuse, _out of spite?”_

“Yes.”

“Wow. That actually makes more sense to me than staying out of devotion or loyalty,” Soren admitted.

“Highness,” he said, somewhat more gently, “I have no complaints serving as your and Pelleas’ bodyguard. Even if your husband definitely does.”

“If looks could kill…” Tauroneo mused.

“Yes, Ike definitely wishes you would retire,” Soren admitted, “but I have a feeling Sir Gawain would simply make your replacement my bodyguard instead. _Not that I need a bodyguard, I cannot stress that enough._ ”

“Hmm.” Bryce nodded. “Very well. I believe you are correct. Should I lose this fight today, I shall retire. Forty years is plenty of time... And I know that there will always be someone here to annoy your father.”

“I promise to insult him frequently on your behalf,” Soren agreed, feeling relieved. “He tried and failed to get rid of me, so you know I’m not going anywhere.”

“Yes, I think he may be gone before you are,” he said knowingly. Soren realized right then that he definitely knew his ulterior motives. But he didn’t care – as long as he was out of the way, that was all that mattered. Titania, Ike and Gawain would be invested in the assassination attempt, and Haar had no loyalty whatsoever, he could likelybe bought or convinced to stay out of it, so…

Yes. They could do this.

As long as Titania won.

  
  


* * *

  
  


Titania meanwhile was choosing to do the hardest part of her training: meditation. She was healed up and no longer strained at all from her fight with Haar and the competitors leading up to him, but too much more practice could be more harmful than helpful. 

  
Annoyingly, her hands were shaking. Priam was her nephew, Ike was like her brother. A lot rode on this fight. Plus, there was the obvious matter of pride, even if it was the least of her worries. 

If only she could use Buttercup! 

“Good call. Definitely my least favorite thing.” 

Titania opened an eye to regard Gawain, who was standing over her with Elena. She was lucky to be trained by the best, even if it was daunting to try to live up to his example. “Mine too. Do you think I can win?”

“I _know_ you can win,” he said with confidence. “He’s a strong opponent, but you’re one of my best pupils. Besides, you’re fighting for family, and you’ve always been stronger with a noble purpose.”

“Exactly,” Elena agreed. “And like most people who work for Ashnard, Bryce doesn’t seem to be very invested. One simply can’t imagine why…”

Titania smiled. “Fair enough. I-”

“AUNT TYANNA!” Priam yelled, running from out of nowhere with Ike chasing him. 

It made her laugh as she caught him. “You shouldn’t run off on Daddy, you know.”

“Me gonna fight fow you!” the toddler declared.

“You are doing no such thing.”

“I was too slow to pick him up again,” Ike said, scooping him back up. “Someday I’ll learn!”

“Or get better at sprinting,” Gawain joked. 

Ranulf joined the group next, holding a rose in a hand. “Wow, I feel a little superfluous,” he said with a grin as he walked over. “And definitely like the second cutest here.” He winked at Priam, who giggled. 

Titania smiled, not calling attention to the rose. He was still very cagey about such things – no longer in private, but definitely in public. If you had asked her years ago if she would still be dating him, she would have guessed no. It was a pleasant surprise. “Your ears give you an unfair advantage,” she agreed.

“Okay you,” Ike said to his son as he started walking away, “if you run off again, you get put in the sling.”

“Crud…” Priam held out a hand toward Titania with a look of pure sorrow as he was carried off. It made Titania laugh.

“We need lunch,” said Gawain to his wife.

She smiled at him. “Ike’s first word was ‘eat,’ Priam’s was ‘beef,’ and I have a feeling yours was ‘food,’” she joked as they walked off together. “Thank goodness Mist, Soren and Pelleas don’t eat that much or we would be eaten out of house and home!”

When they were gone, Ranulf finally held out the rose. “Congratulations, so far. Are you worried?”

“Oh, incredibly so,” she said, taking it. “Thank you. It wouldn’t be so bad except I know what the plan is.”

"It's win-win," Ranulf said congenially, "If you win, that's more defense for the kitten. If you lose, we can continue traveling the world righting wrongs."

"Those have been fun," she agreed. "I didn't even think about that."

"Well even I can admit the kitten comes first," Ranulf said begrudgingly. "Much like in cuteness though, I'm a close second." She chuckled. "And it's hard enough to keep a low profile when you're just a beorc and a laguz traveling together, let alone if one of them is a member of the Four and the other is a Gallian ambassador."

"No one ever expects a Gallian to be diplomatic," she said with a smile. It really had surprised a number of people. "Just like no one expects a Daeinite to be nice. Granted I was born in Crimea."

"And no one expects Crimeans to be tough," he teased. "You prove that wrong too."

Titania smiled and sighed as she braced her leg. Seconds later, Priam ran over and tackled it. "TYAAAANNAAAAAAAA!"

"Ike! That's twice now! Are we going to have to tell Soren?" Ranulf laughed even as Ike scooped him back up.

"Oh please don't, or else they'll have to throw another tournament to replace me," Ike fetched out a large piece of fabric. "Just kidding, I have to report on how often he runs off. To the sling with you, little man!"

"Noooooooooo!" Priam fought but lost and soon he was snuggly wrapped. He sighed in a perfect Soren imitation. "Not fair."

"Super fair," Ike argued as he carried him back off. "And I have to tell Papa."

"Nooooo..."

Then an announcement trumpeted through the area. The final battle was about to begin.

* * *

Soren sat by his brother in the royal box, because even he couldn't quite manage his emotions well enough to sit by his father. "Pelleas, everyone in the entire city knows you're nervous."

Pelleas actually beamed. "I know! I've been playing it up. If anyone asks it's because I'm so sad I might lose Bryce. I intend on engaging in wailing and gnashing of teeth if he loses." 

Micaiah looked proud too. "It was his idea, since he knew he would be nervous regardless."  
  


Soren was actually surprised. "That actually is a good idea. Thank you." It was so odd for him to thank people. It made Pelleas smile even brighter.

Ike sat down on Soren's other side, Priam in the sling. "Twice," he said.

"Only twice? Not bad." Last time Ike took Priam, there were six escape attempts. That being said, the last time SOREN had taken Priam out and about, there had been none. A few times ago was when he discovered his papa could control the winds and stop him in his tracks. A smart boy, he never made an attempt again. “Priam Ralleas Daein-Greil. You do _not_ run off.”

“Sowwy,” he said with great sorrow. Soren knew it was a lost cause. 

At this point Titania and Bryce came on the field, both looking calm and collected. Soren was honestly not sure who would win - Titania was younger and thus had more energy, but on the flip side, this was hardly Bryce’s first challenge. But Gawain had defeated Bryce, and also trained Titania…

In the end, youth and determination was the victor over stoicism and experience, although not by much. Bryce made Titania fight for every inch until he was finally disarmed, and even then he almost got his hand cleaved off. 

But when he conceded defeat, he saluted Soren, who politely applauded him in return.

All according to plan. 

(And Pelleas’ histrionics were worthy of Almedha and absolutely hilarious.)

* * *

Ike gave his dad his biggest sad eyes. 

“No,” said Gawain.

He held up Priam, who imitated the sad eyes.

“Still no.” 

But Ike could tell he was wavering. He had a weakness to cute things. “Please?”

“Pwease?” Priam echoed. 

“I’m the best for the job since I have seniority… and there was that assassination attempt… it makes sense.” 

“Daddy’s a good boy,” Priam added. He had no idea what was going on. Ike felt a smidge bad weaponizing him, but if it succeeded…

Ike resisted a smug look when he saw his dad give in. “Fine. But that means you have to watch Pelleas too, don’t forget!”

“Thanks Dad!” Ike crooned, giving his old man a hug before running off to tell Soren. And eventually, maybe Pelleas too.


End file.
